


A Beacon in a Dark World

by SansyFansySkele (SakuraSkeletonz)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell, Big Brother Papyrus, Character Death, Chillby - Underfell Grillby, Literally the non-con and dub-con are a one chapter thing, M/M, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sansby (One chapter), Sibling Incest, Underfell Papyrus, Underfell Sans, Younger Brother Sans, dubcon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-28
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-05-29 14:22:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 22,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6379714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SakuraSkeletonz/pseuds/SansyFansySkele
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans and Papyrus live in a hopeless world, or so they believe, maybe there is at least one ray of hope in a place they both hadn't noticed before.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Standing Your Ground

**Author's Note:**

> It starts off a bit slow, the first few chapters are also pretty short, so sorry about that in advance. Also, I suck at naming them to, another fair warning.
> 
> This is my interpretation of Undefell, so it might be different from what a lot of people think of.

Sans walked close behind his brother, holding onto the baggy sweater that the elder of the two wore. He whimpered quietly as he looked around, “B-bro, why are we walking through W-Waterfall..? W-what if another monster comes to get us…?” He said in a shaky tone, even if he looked slightly threatening with his jagged teeth, he wasn’t as imposing due to his small stature and overall lack of HP. In fact, the young skeleton had the lowest stats of anyone in the Underground, his HP was the worst, just a measly 1.

The taller brother sighed, slowing his walk a bit before coming to a stop and looking back at the younger monster, “Sans, father told us to go home, that’s why we’re-”

He was cut off by the smaller one, “B-but, why couldn’t we have just taken the boat..? T-the River Person is n-nice enough…”

A groan left the other, “Brother, I get a bad feeling from them, besides, we’ve only ever been on the boat with father, what if they aren’t to be trusted?”

Fat red tears welled in Sans’ sockets as he looked at his brother, “P-Papyrus, w-what if someone atta-” Before he could finish an orange spear whizzed past the two, nearly hitting his cheekbone as he gasped, pulling back from the other and falling.

“Who the heck do you think you are, coming around here?!” A voice called, a young fish girl appearing from the darkness in front of them, she looked fairly menacing, all things considered, which only made Sans back away as tears began to flee from his sockets.

Papyrus had already swung around, raising a hand up, “We aren’t here to fight, we just want to go home, that’s all, please let us through!”

“Let you through? Ha! Don’t make me laugh bonebrain, I don’t care where you’re headed! I just care that you’re in my territory, it doesn’t matter if you’re going home!” She summoned another spear, flinging it towards Papyrus, having yet to spot Sans.

Papyrus instinctively dodged the projectile, rolling out of the way before looking back and seeing it heading right for his brother, “S-Sans, move!” He called out, his brother’s head turning just as the spear was about to connect...Sans felt himself being picked up above the spear, his brother’s magic turning his inverted red soul blue so he could be moved.

Sans gasped, wiggling his legs as his brother brought him back down to the ground when the spear was gone, “Sans, don’t run off like that, you’ll get hurt!”

“P-Pap, I-I’m scared!” He cried out, more tears fleeing his sockets as his brother released him from the magical hold, his small body shaking.

“Heh, wow, look at this little guy! He’s a big crybaby!” The girl managed to see the other’s HP bar just before it vanished, scoffing a moment, “And he’s weak to boot! Why don’t you just kill him? It would be a _mercy killing,_ after all.”

Both siblings froze, Sans felt his body go rigid as the other continued, sockets going blank, “I mean, 1HP and pretty much a worthless baby, how old is he, like, 2?”

Papyrus regained his composure first, standing and dusting himself off before standing in front of his brother protectively, “My brother’s age is of no concern to you, besides, **families don’t kill each other**.” He said with force, causing the younger monster to jolt and look up at his sibling, his small white pupils returning, “Sans is my little brother, I refuse to kill him because it wouldn’t be mercy.”

The girl scoffed, “Then what if I do it for ya?”

Before the child could summon another spear or Papyrus had time to retaliate a rather large tortoise monster came from the doorway between the children, “Undyne, what the hell do you think you’re doing?!” He scolded the girl, who grumbled, “You know very well I don’t allow fighting near my shop, leave these poor skeletons alone and go home.”

“But Gerson, they’re in our territory! They need to be taught a lesson!”

“Undyne, go, _now._ ” Gerson said in an authoritative tone, almost like he was about to attack himself. 

That caused the young girl to wince and back away, “Fine, but if you two come anywhere near my place you're both in for a fight.” She called before running off.

Gerson turned to the two skeletons, looking them over, “Papyrus, Sans, follow me.”

Sans moved closer to his brother, who gently grabbed his hand and led him into the small cave behind the much older monster. Both looked around a moment before the smaller saw the apples, moving over a picking one up, he looked through his pockets but found nothing, looking down he placed it back only to have the older monster laugh, “Son, you know your father and I are old friends, you can take it, Gaster will pay me back when he can.”

“A-are you sure, Mr. Gerson?” The young skeleton asked, looking to the older monster who only nodded, “O-okay.” He picked the apple up once more, moving to take a bite.

Papyrus looked towards the elder monster, “Mr. Gerson, why did you protect us?” He questioned.

“Ah, that? Well, I did that because it’s only fair, after all you kids weren’t intendin’ on harmin’ anyone, just looking ta get home. I take it yer father has a lot to do today?”

Papyrus nodded, looking towards his brother, the smaller skeleton had already finished his apple, looking over his shoulder cautiously, almost like he was worried about the other child coming back… In fact, Papyrus would bet his gold that’s why Sans looked so anxious and scared, “Still, thank you for helping us.”

“Kid, it’s no trouble. After all, you’re both only...what? About 8 and 4 now, right?” A small nod to confirm their ages was all Papyrus had to give, “You take real good care of your little brother, Papyrus, I couldn’t let that care go to waste, much less let that little urchin do anything to harm you both, especially with…” They both looked at the young skeleton, who was rubbing his eye sockets at this point, yawning slightly, “Well, you know what I’m talking about.”

Papyrus moved over to Sans, touching his shoulder and causing the younger to jump, “I-I’m sor-” He started before seeing it was his brother, causing him to relax, “S-sorry, P-Pap…”

“Sans, are you tired?” He asked quietly, watching his younger sibling.

The smaller skeleton nodded weakly, his eyes already half closed again, posture swaying slightly.

“You can both stay here before heading home, if Undyne comes back she knows better than to toss those spears around here if she wants anything to eat.” Gerson said, moving over and picking the smaller boy up, causing him to panic a moment before calming once more, “Sans wasn’t so jumpy, not the last I remember.”

“Yeah, he...well, you remember when he had more HP, right, Gerson?”

“I sure do, it feels almost like it was yesterday, even if it was over two years ago now.” He sighed, moving the small monster into a secluded corner and placing a small blanket over him, the older brother joining him, “I still can’t believe how lucky he is to have survived that.” He shook his head, petting the small one’s skull gently as he finally let himself fall asleep.

“Yea, father was worried that we might lose him as well...so was I.” Papyrus murmured from his younger brother’s side, “He was so sick, father still wants to repay you for helping to save Sans…”

“You’re father owes me nothing, Papyrus, all he owes me is taking care of you both. I only hope something like that never gets to any of you again, I have doubts Asgore will be so... _forgiving_ if it happens again.”

Papyrus tensed, staring at the ground, “The king is mean, father cannot control illnesses.”

“Asgore is _ruthless,_ you’re family is one of the few happy here, with any type of hope. After what happened to his son, he became cold, especially to those who have families.”

Papyrus grumbled, fighting off his own sleep, “We should tell father where we are.” He said groggily.

“Don’t worry Papyrus, I will call your father and tell him, you should rest with your brother, you sound just as tired.”

“Mr. Gerson…?” He questioned quietly.

The elder sighed, “Yes, Papyrus?”

“What she said isn’t true, is it…about… killing Sans…?” There was a wavering tone in the elder skeleton brother’s voice, almost like he was about to cry.

“No, what Undyne said isn’t true. If Sans is happy and has a life he wishes to live, it wouldn’t be considered a mercy killing, even by Asgore’s definition of a mercy killing, the monster must have nothing left to live for and even wish death upon themselves, only then would it be considered a mercy killing. Sans is a happy little boy, he has a family who loves him, he has you… Papyrus, standing up for your brother was the right thing to do.”

That seemed like the words the elder brother needed to hear, a small smile appeared on his features as he slowly closed his sockets and fell asleep as well.


	2. A Father's Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans and his father have a little chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone notice how kind Gerson is? Yea, I might explain that later. Also, I should say that when I said this story started out slow, it’s basically them as kids for like, 4-5 chapters so, yea. There’s some skipping around thought since, well, I don’t think everything is important.
> 
> Once again: this is my interpretation of Undefell, so it might be different from what a lot of people think of. I won’t be adding this again, hopefully.

It wasn’t until fairly late, at least by the time on the clock in the shop, that Gaster finally managed to get to his sons, in fact, it was around 3 A.M. by his watch’s count. He moved into the small cave, seeing the two skeletons curled close to one another, Gerson smoking his pipe at the small table in the center, “Ah, Gerson, thank you for calling earlier.” The rather tall skeleton monster smiled, the tortoise waving his free hand.

“Don’t mention it, Gaster, you’re a friend and the boys were in trouble.”

Suddenly the room went silent, deathly silent almost, except for the small noises admitted from the brothers and the shallow breathing of the older skeleton, a few moments passed before the other cleared his throat, “Ah, yes, about that…” He moved his hand to his cervical vertebrae and rubbed them tensely, “What...exactly happened? You were short on the phone because of my need to get back to work, but…”

“Ah, thought you’d be worried about that, actually.” The tortoise stood up and walked over to the other, glancing at the children a moment before looking back at their father, “Ya see, there’s a youngin’ here called Undyne, she’s a loudmouth and really not one to be messed with, when she uh… Saw the boys she got a little overprotective of her “home turf”, so to speak, and… Well, she attacked them. Luckily they were right outside and I could stop them before either of the boys were hurt, she wasn’t all too thrilled but… I knew I couldn’t let her hurt these boys.”

Gaster’s gaze flicked over to his two sons, he noticed a flash of white from the younger one’s eyes, “Sans?” He called quietly, causing the small one to jolt and look down, “Were you...awake this whole time?” He only got a small nod in response before sighing, “Gerson, I cannot thank you enough for this, helping keep my sons safe… How can a repay you?”

“Just love them, that’s all I ask.”

Gaster smiled, “I couldn’t do anything else.” He walked over, gently using his magic to pick Papyrus up, without turning his soul blue, the younger skeleton moving his arms up and causing his father to chuckle, “Alright Sans, alright.” He knelt down, picking the smaller one up and holding him tightly, managing to keep his magic stable so he could hold both of them, he looked so tired.

“Gaster, do you need some help?” Gerson asked.

“Dear friend, I don’t wish to have you freeze to bring my children home.” Gaster let out a small chuckle.

Gerson only shrugged, “You look like hell, kiddo.”

Another breathy chuckle, “I probably do, but I’ll survive.”

“Be careful out there.”

“I shall be, I won’t chance walking all the way home just to be safe, thank you again and if I-”

“I’ll put anything you owe me on your tab, bud.” Gerson said.

“...Thank you.” And with that the small family left, heading to the boat that waited for them just below the cave. The trip home was almost completely silent, Gaster managing to get both children in his arms, which were fairly long, but even still. The tall skeleton knew all too well that Sans hadn’t fallen asleep once more, he opted to watch the water pass by as the rode the small boat.

Once in Snowdin, Gaster made his way to their small house, his magic managing to open the door before he moved to the couch, placing the two down and heading to shut the door, he felt the small eyes on him and sighed, “Yes, Sans? Are you alright?”

The small monster seemed startled when he was ask the question, fidgeting awkwardly on the large couch next to his sleeping brother, “W-well, d-dad I wanted to...to ask if...w-well I wanted to…” It almost seemed like he couldn’t think of what to say, getting a little frustrated as tears started building in the corners of his sockets once more, whenever he would get upset that was his first instinct: to cry, honestly he wasn’t sure what else he _could_ do at that point.

In a few short seconds the elder skeleton had strode over and was kneeling down in front of his - obviously upset - child, he moved his hand out and placed it against the other’s small cheek, brushing over it with his thumb, “Sans, calm yourself, what is it you wanted to ask me?” He whispered, his voice soothing the young one and making him look back up at him.

“I...was wondering if you could train me,” He started, looking right at the elder who seemed completely and utterly shocked, “I...don’t want to be a burden on you and Pap, dad…”

Shaking his head the taller skeleton moved, gathering the young one in his arms, cradling him like a baby, “Sans… You are no such thing to your brother and I, we both love you.” That only seemed to make him whine slightly, obviously getting agitated once again, that was apparently not the response he was looking for.

“D-dad, I know you both love me, b-but I…” He grumbled, pressing his small palms against his closed eye sockets as new tears threatened to fall from them now, “I...I just don’t want Pap to...to do... _that_ again…” It didn’t take long for Gaster to assume what the small one met, which only made his soul sink as he remembered doing the same thing to the elder when he was younger.

“Sans… You mean using his _blue magic,_ right?” He questioned, just to make sure he was on the right train of thought, a small nod was his only response, followed by tears running down the young one’s cheeks. The older skeleton sighed heavily and sat down slowly, holding the other tightly, “And… why did he use it on you?”

“I...I almost got hit.”

Gaster stilled, his grip on the small child tightening, causing the small one to let out a small and frightened noise, “D-dad… y-you’re hurting me…”

Once he noticed what he was doing Gaster loosened his grip, “I-I’m sorry, Sans. I just…” He looked at the small child, whose eyes met his own, he couldn’t lie, “I honestly don’t know what I’d do if I lost either of you, but… I don’t think Papyrus knows what he’d do without his baby brother, his magic just reacted to his worry, I suppose… Like mine always did when he was small and would nearly get hurt.”

“Y-you used your blue magic on Pap..?” The child asked, tentatively.

“Yes, without meaning to sometimes, it was just the first thing that happened rather than grabbing the item or what have you… Papyrus explained that he felt distant and like I didn’t love him when I did it, so I assume that… You felt that way as well..?” A nod was his only response once more, “So you’re worried he’ll do it again?” One more nod.

Silence.

“...What do you want me to do?”

“.......” Sans fidgeted, looking down, “I...I want to learn how to dodge, s-so Pap doesn’t have to worry so much, a-and so you don’t either.”

“...I’ll make you a training machine, Sans.”

“Huh?” The child looked up at his father confused.

“I’ll make a machine to train you, so you don’t have to worry about possibly getting hurt.”

“Okay, dad.”

“But for now, you and your brother need your rest, it’s very late.”

Sans nuzzled against the other’s sweater, looking up at him, “Yea dad, you should sleep too.” He mumbled.

“I will Sans,” He stood, managing to get both children in his arms again before moving them upstairs and into their room, laying them in their respective beds, “sleep well, son, both of you should.”

The small child nodded, before yawning, watching his father head to the door, “D-dad, b-before you go…could you…”

Gaster smiled, turning back and heading to the small bookcase, “Of course, Sans.” He said, pulling out a book and sitting down, reading the story to the young child before seeing the small one on the verge of falling asleep, “Good night, Sans.” He whispered, kissing his skull.

Sans smiled wearily, “Night, dad…” He said with a yawn before letting his sockets close.


	3. Observe Your Surroundings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster extends an offer to Papyrus.

It had been a few days, almost a week since Sans had brought up wanting to train, or...at least learning how to dodge quickly. Gaster led the small child down the hallway of the lab to a newly built machine, it was definitely bigger than what Sans had expected, that was for sure. The child seemed to get nervous standing in front of it, sweat beading on his skull as he looked up at his father apprehensively.

The elder only smiled, waving one hand, “Sans, it’s fine. I had to make it big enough for you to fit inside, I made it have holograms so you don’t have to worry about being damaged when you’re dodging.” He said, patting the young one’s skull affectionately.

“W-wait, then how will I know if I get hit, dad?”

“I’ll keep a close watch, don’t worry, besides, it’s better safe than sorry, after all.”

Nodding the small child looked around inside the machine, it was way bigger inside than he’d thought! Wow, it looked like his dad could stand up inside! Which, to him was something considering Gaster was about 7 feet tall. His sockets looked like they were swimming as he stepped inside, leaving the small door open, “Dad, you could fit in here!”

Gaster only chuckled, watching his son, “Yes, yes I could Sans, and there’s a reason I made it so big.”

Sans turned to his father, looking at him in an almost questioning manner, before he could say anything his father spoke once more, “It’s so you can continue using it as you grow and you have space to move around.” The small one only nodded, obviously still enthralled.

“Can...can I…” He trailed off, looking at the glass window that his father was looking through at him, almost scared to ask the question he wanted to.

“Yes, I can turn it on once I close the door, but Sans… I don’t want you using this when I’m not here, alright?” A very enthusiastic nod was his response, as well as a wide smile, he hadn’t seen the young skeleton this happy in a while. A smile came to his own face before he walked over, closing the door and turning on an intercom system within the machine, “Sans, I’m going to start out slow, alright? I want you to get use to it first.”

“Okay dad, I’m ready when you are.” He replied, watching the area around him closely, noticing protrusions on the walls, “Uh...dad...what are those things?”

“Oh, those are what make the holograms, don’t worry Sans, they won’t hurt you.” That seemed like all the encouragement the young skeleton needed to take what looked like a fighting stance, “Okay, start in...3...2...1!” The machine was turned on and a few hologram bones materialized around the young one.

Sans was quick to dodge the first hologram, barely missing the second, the third just barely missed as well, he had to duck quickly to avoid the fourth… He was starting to get tired though, his hands came up quickly to try and block the last one, which caused his father to turn off the machine and open the door, “Sans, are you alright?” He questioned, holding his arms out to the young one after he’d knelt down.

The small one moved over to his father slowly, before snuggling into his sweater, lightly clutching it in his tiny hands and panting, “Y-yeah dad, t-thanks…” He curled close to the older skeleton as he was hoisted up, his sockets closing.

“You did very well for your first attempt, Sans… I’m very proud of you.” Gaster whispered as he carried the child from the room, turning off the light and heading to the main room of the lab where the elder brother stood, looking around, “Ah, Papyrus.”

“Father, where is Sa-” The child was cut off when he saw his brother, dashing over, “S-Sans?! Sans! Father what happened to-”

This time their father stopped him, “He is fine Papyrus, we were just doing some training, that’s all.” He looked the child over, noticing that his sweater was covered in what appeared to be mud from Waterfall.

“Training?! Training?! Father, Sans could have been hurt he-”

“Papyrus, he would not have gotten hurt, I assure you, I will explain later… However, you on the other hand, _you_ look like you’ve been out somewhere, I did not give you permission to leave the lab yet.” He sounded stern, which caused the younger skeleton to flinch and look away, mumbling under his breath, “Papyrus, where were you?”

The child flexed his hand, “I...went to go see that girl from before, to train…”

“Papyrus! You could have been hurt! What were you thinking?!”

He jolted, “I want to protect Sans, father! If I have to fight I need to train, don’t I?!” He shot back.

“...” Their father sighed, running one hand over his face, seeing as Sans was just small enough to fit in one of his arms alone due to their size difference.

“...I’m scared father…”

Gaster’s eyes snapped to the young monster, looking at him, “And why is that, Papyrus?” He moved, sitting in the chair that was across from the boy.

“Undyne says that...you need to gain EXP and LV to be able to stay alive… But Mr. Gerson said… well…”

The elder skeleton made a motion with his hand, “Papyrus, come here.” He said, watching the other move closer only to pull him onto his lap, “Gerson told you what both of those acronyms stand for, correct?” The boy nodded in response, “If he told you about people getting ruthless when those are increased, he’s not lying… Some of those around the lab are very ruthless in their own right.”

“W-would I hurt Sans…?” The young one’s voice seemed to be wavering as he looked over at his brother.

“There is a possibility that it could happen, yes… I would assume that’s the reason you are scared, correct?” Nod, “You’re not one to wish harm on to others, I know that about both you and your brother… But… It’s true, if you gain EXP you’ll start to distance yourself from feeling anything for causing others any type of pain, that’s what worries you the most, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes, father.”

Giving a small nod of his own Gaster leaned back in his lab chair, looking at the two children, “Well then, I think I might be able to give you an ultimatum to gaining EXP and LV, Papyrus.”

“W-what’s that, father?” The young skeleton looked up at the other.

“You can use the machine I built for Sans as well, I’m sure your brother wouldn’t mind, perhaps you could watch him train from where I stand with me and when he’s finished, you could train after, or the reverse.”

“Y-you sure it wouldn’t be any trouble, f-father?”

Gaster smiled, stroking his son’s skull, “Of course not, Papyrus, why would it be trouble? You are my son as well, just because Sans is younger, doesn’t mean I love you any less.” The small one smiled, looking up at his father before looking over at his brother, “Papyrus… I do wish to talk about something, however.”

“Y-yes, father?”

“Sans… had told me you ended up using your blue magic on him, even knowing how it made you feel when I used it on you… I understand _why_ you did it, son, but… Be a little cautions next time, perhaps warn him?”

“I-If I have to, I’ll try to warn him. I felt terrible using it on him because he looked terrified when I did… It hurt to see him that scared, father…”

“I imagine so, Papyrus…” Gaster looked at the younger boy in his arms, seeing him nestled close to his own body, “Sans needs to be protected, agreed, Papyrus?”

“Agreed, father.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaster didn't take long to make the machine, mostly because he prioritized that to help Sans. His sons is more important to him than his job, in a lot of respects.


	4. All Eyes on Sans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The skeleton family have to make sure one of them isn't claimed by death.

A few weeks passed and the boys were both training well, getting quicker, dodging more of the holograms at once. Today was another day of training, Sans had just entered the training machine, however… Something seemed a bit off.

“Sans, are you sure you can handle this?” Papyrus asked into the intercom microphone.

“Huh..? Oh yeah Pap, I’ll be fine, don’t worry!” The younger called back before looking over at his father, “Dad, I’m ready!”

Gaster only nodded, turning on the machine, watching as a few of the bones materialized and started being flung towards the child, whom dodged fairly gracefully, considering he looked like he was having a hard time focusing on things.

Sans panted, watching the bones fly towards him, he jumped over a few of them, side stepping a few more before his legs gave out, 10. He dodged 10 of them, that was worse than he’d done yesterday! Coughing slightly he forced himself to stand, his sockets lighting up a deep red color as he tried to steady himself, but the machine was already off and the other two monsters were dashing into it.

“Sans, Sans are you alright?!” Their father called out, his vision was blurry but he could make out his father standing right above him. His arm stretched a bit, pressing the back of his hand to the other’s head before pulling it away quickly, “Oh no…” He said quietly before picking up the child, “Papyrus, call Gerson and tell him we need him to come to the house.”

“Father, what’s wrong?!” Papyrus said, looking up at them.

“Sans is sick, Papyrus.”

Without another word of exchange Papyrus ran off to get his father’s phone, while Gaster kept the younger son close, managing to get up to where the elder boy was. Sans’s breathing was shallow, his face buried in the sleeve of his father’s lab coat as he coughed, “Please Sans, please don’t have what I think you do, you can’t survive it again… You were lucky the first time, but with your HP…”

“Father, Gerson said he’ll be over as soon as he can, we should head home now!” The young skeleton called out, which made the elder nod, heading for the door of the lab. Just before he could reach it, however; he was stopped by a fairly large force, being pushed back onto the ground.

“Father!” Papyrus called out, running over to the taller skeleton’s side, glaring up at the monster in front of them.

“Dr. Gaster, just where do you think you’re going?” A rather imposing voice said, causing the skeleton to fix his glasses quickly and look up, only to catch a glimpse of the king.

“Y-your majesty.” He stammered, his eyes darting back down to the bundle in his arms that was shaking at this point, “D-dad, it’s so c-cold…” The monster whimpered quietly.

“What have I told you about bringing your children to your lab, Doctor?” Asgore questioned, looking at the two children with a rather angry expression.

“I-I apologize, your majesty, but… You know I have no one who can look after them at home, during the day the only place they can be is at my side, I know you-”

“Gaster you’re supposed to follow orders, not try and make sure your children are safe.” The taller monster shot back, almost stepping on the other’s foot when he moved forward, “You are supposed to be doing your _job,_ I understand you’re a father, but that changes absolutely nothing.”

“P-please, King Asgore, my son is ill, I need to get him home so he can be checked out, I can’t let him die, please…” Gaster pled, holding Sans protectively, almost like he was shielding him as he stood up, “I have someone coming to my house to check on him, please just… let me make sure Sans doesn’t die…”

Asogre only scoffed, looking at the small child, “You’re lucky I’m feeling generous today, or else I would say no. There is a condition, however.”

“Y-yes, anything, just please, I want to make sure my son is alright.”

“You must come into work early tomorrow and leave these two at home, I do not care how sick he is, these boys are a hinderance to your work… You will also stay late, to finish any work you have still yet to complete today.”

“...”

“Father, that’s ridiculous, he can’t-”

“Hush, Papyrus… I will agree to your terms, King Asgore… I shall be here earlier than usual in the morning, thank you very much.” He bowed before gathering his things and grabbing the elder boy’s hand so they could leave.

“Father, what was that? You seriously can’t expect us to be alright on our own…”

“I shall ask Gerson to stay with you, I cannot go against the king… I apologize, Papyrus, but this means no training until Sans is well again.”

“But father, you could have-”

“Papyrus, that’s enough… Asgore could very well have turned me to dust right then and there, he is a very powerful boss monster, I stand no chance against him in my current state. Please…”

“...” Papyrus looked at his feet, getting on the boat with the other skeleton as safely as possible, “How...is Sans, father?”

“He isn’t doing very well, Papyrus… He seems very weak, we need to get home as fast as possible.”

Without another word, the boat left Hotlands and headed back to Snowdin, the three skeletons riding in relative silence, with the exception of Sans’s labored breathing. Once the boat stopped at it’s destination they family was off to their home, “F-Father, I can’t keep up.” Papyrus puffed, barely able to move quick enough to stay a safe proximity to the other.

Gaster moved, using his magic to pick the boy up before walking faster, “I apologize, Papyrus, I am just extremely worried about your brother, I’m trying to get us to our home as quickly as possible.” He said, getting to the door and seeing the tortoise monster standing there, “Gerson, you haven’t been waiting long out here in this weather, have you?”

“Ah, Gaster, no I haven’t… Papyrus told me what happened, how’s Sans?” The monster turned, sounding rather worried.

“His breathing is very shallow and I am not quite sure what is wrong with him other than being sick. I am unsure if he has a simple flu or worse…” He placed Papyrus down and opened the door, moving to lay the boy on the couch, which caused him to stir.

“D-dad..?” He mumbled, the other child at his side by that point, “M-mm, Pap..?”

“Sans…” The elder brother whispered, sitting next to him on the couch.

Gerson moved, over, “Gaster, do you think he could have..?”

“I hope not, if he does… He won’t make it, I know it…”

“H-have what, d-dad..?” The small skeleton grumbled, opening his sockets and looking at the other three monsters, “W-what is it..?”

“Sans, you need rest!” Papyrus said, sounding worried.

“Actually, it’s probably better that he’s at least conscious, for the moment it’s easier for me to ask him questions.” The tortoise grabbed one of the chairs from the table and sat down, looking at the small child, “Sans, when did you start feeling sick?”

“Uh...three days ago.”

“Sans, why didn’t you say something?” Gaster questioned.

“I-I didn’t think it was that bad… I thought I’d get over it…”

“Sans, how bad has it been?”

“I-I felt like I wanted to puke up my food, but I kept it down… At least what I was able to eat…”

Gerson moved a strange looking device out from the small bag he had at his side, “Now, I need you to lay back so I can attach this to your soul, it will give a read out of your temperature and everything I need.”

Sans nodded weakly, laying on his back as Gerson pulled up his sweater, placing a small patch on his soul which made him shiver a bit, “I-It’s really cold, Mr. Gerson.”

“Sorry about that, kiddo.” He chuckled, turning the small machine on, after a few moments it beeped as the read out popped up, “Ah, good…”

“G-good? What’s the news, Gerson?” The elder skeleton asked.

“He only has the flu, it’s not pneumonia this time.”

A sigh of relief left the other as he stood, walking over to them, “So that means Sans is safe.”

“Yeah, he’s gonna be fine, just needs a few days of rest is all.”

“Ah, speaking of… Gerson, could you… watch the boys for a couple of days while I tend to my duties?”

“Asgore?”

“Mmm, yes, unfortunately he was very displeased when I left with Sans…”

“I can watch them, no problem.”

“Thank you.”

Gerson only nodded before removing the patch and standing, “I could make some soup, if ya like, Gaster.”

“That would be a good idea.” The scientist said, looking at the boys as Sans fixed his red sweater, he brought a blanket over and placed it over the boy, “Get some rest, Sans, you need it.”

He nodded, closing his sockets and yawning quietly.

“Father..?” Papyrus inquired once Sans was asleep.

“Hmmm?”

“D-does this mean Sans isn’t in danger?”

“Yes, Papyrus, your brother will get better as long as he gets rest.”

The child nodded, looking towards his younger brother and smiling, “Good.”

After a few days had past Sans was back up and about, smiling widely and acting like his usual self. Gaster and Papyrus could only be happy that Sans hadn’t ended up in a worse condition, or it could have been a repeat of when he was in infant… That was when his HP was permanently drained to 1. He’d nearly been lost to then, well, it was a good thing that hadn’t happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to clarify, the Sans was ill once before, as stated, it's the reason why he's so weak. It's also the reason he has such stunted growth, he was always smaller because of this, which is why he's so much shorter than Papyrus in general.
> 
> Also, Asgore turned into a major jackass after the loss of Chara and Asriel, before that the Underground was full of hope and piece just like in Undertale, the decline happened after they both died. It started happening even before Toriel left.


	5. Rising from the Dust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tense meeting between the king and royal scientist has the brothers worried.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy, all I’m going to say is, enjoy. I’m just going to go over this way. (☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞

Sans walked deeper into the lab, searching for his father, “D-dad?” He called out, a few years had past since they started training with the machine, which had now been moved to the small workshop behind their home in Snowdin, for easier access and because the brothers were older. His pupils darting around as he scanned the area. He could hear Papyrus searching in the other direction, calling out as well before stumbling into a dark room, blinking, “Dad..?” He murmured before hearing a crash right next to where he was standing, causing him to freeze.

“S-Sans..?” His father groaned from the dark space next to him, causing him to jolt and call out for his brother.

“P-Pap I found dad!”

The increasingly loud sound of footsteps indicating that Papyrus had heard him and was running towards them. He moved back into the room completely before it was lit with fire magic, behind the ball of flame stood Asgore and the look he was wearing made Sans shaking in fear, tears building in his sockets as he watched him looking towards where he’d heard his father end up, “Dr. Gaster, your experiment failed again, how many times must I tell you, _try using your sons to get results._ ”

Sans fell back from the force of Asgore’s words, just as the lights turned on, his father standing up, “And how many times do I have to say, I _will not_ use my children as test subjects, nor any other living monsters.”

Papyrus reached the room just in time to see Sans backing out, the younger skeleton seemed terrified as he curled himself into a ball to hide from the two older monsters, “Sans...what’s wrong?”

“H-he wants dad to t-test stuff on us…” He sobbed quietly.

The taller skeleton walked into the room, his eyes flaring, “Father won’t use us for tests, he loves us!”

Gaster whirled around, looking at the now 12 year old, “Papyrus, what are you doing here? How did you-”

“Sans and I were looking for you, father, we got worried since it was taking you so long…”

The elder looked behind the boy, seeing the younger curled up made his soul quiver in sadness, Sans looked so small, he also looked so scared, his body shaking from his obvious crying. He moved holding an arm in front of Papyrus.

“Father..?” He started, sounding confused.

“Go, Papyrus. Grab Sans and _run,_ get away from here.” His magic flared as he looked at the monster that stood tall in front of himself, “Go home, _please._ ”

“B-but father, what are you-”

“Just go, please, Papyrus!” He shouted, startling the both children as they stared at him with wide sockets, their father never raised his voice unless he was upset or… Sans was the first to react, jumping up and hugging the scientist.

“Dad no, please! You always said you would lose, please don’t!”

“Sans, please, go with Papyrus, both of you need to leave, _now._ ” Gaster replied, sounding rather stern, his soul was breaking because he could feel the 8 year old shaking and he knew the other was crying against his lab coat.

Papyrus snapped out of his daze and grabbed Sans, managing to pull him off their father and ran, the other still small enough for him to carry, amazingly… The downside was, Sans was facing the room his father stood in, watching as time seemed to slow down.

Gaster got into a fighting stance, something he had never done as far as his children had seen, and readied himself for an oncoming fight, summoning a few bones as he looked over his shoulder to make sure the two were leaving, he caught sight of Sans watching and smiled sadly at him, “Sans, Papyrus… I love you both so much, please, be safe!” He called out, before turning back around and throwing a bone towards the bigger monster.

Sans’s sockets widened as he began sobbing uncontrollably, “P-Pap, put me down, put me down! We have to help d-dad!”

“Sans, calm down!” Papyrus choked out, sounding like he was crying as well, “We can’t go back there, we’ll be killed to, father wouldn’t want that.”

The smaller monster clawed as his brother’s back and through blurry vision the last thing his saw was his father’s body disintegrating and falling to the floor, his lab coat burning up as his glasses fell onto the pile of dust. By the time they made it out of the lab and to the boat that took them right to Snowdin, Sans had passed out, his crying was to much, it drained his energy and Papyrus was still crying himself, managing to get on the boat with his brother somehow and keep his balance despite wanting to just lean against a wall and sleep. The elder of the two moved, sitting his brother on the boat and hugging his sleeping body close as he continued crying silently while they rode the vessel home.

Once they reached the snowy bank Papyrus stood shakily, hoisting up the smaller skeleton and carrying him towards their home, luckily their father had given him all the gold he had and the keys to the house before what happened but… Why had he done that in the first place? He’d always told them he couldn’t beat Asgore, why did he suddenly try to fight him? It made no sense. Then he remembered hearing Sans say Asgore wanted their father to test on them. He grumbled, opening the door and getting them both inside, laying his brother down on the couch and closing the door afterwards. He sat next to his sleeping brother, the door shut tightly and locked, he wouldn’t dare chance losing his brother before this, but it was reinforced now.

“Sans… I’m going to make sure you’re safe, I promise…” He whispered, patting the other’s skull gently so he didn’t wake him up.

As the years continued to pass, Sans grew up under his brother’s care, he seemed a lot more easy to scare sometimes, which was sad in it’s own right to Papyrus, however… One year they had to have a talk, Papyrus hated this thought, but he figured it was one of the only ways to make sure he could at least help Sans a little.

“Sans…”

“Y-yeah, Pap?” Sans was 15, almost 16 year old, at this point, old enough to handle the thought that Papyrus was trying to bring up, at least… He hoped.

“I...have an idea that might help us.” The 20 year old said, looking at the teenager.

“W-what is it?” He seemed to fidget, teasing the fur lining of his jacket’s hood, watching Papyrus closely.

Papyrus gripped the scarf his brother had given him a few days ago for his 20th birthday tightly, running his thumb over it, “I… think we should put up a front outside.”

“H-huh..? A front, like what, Pap..?”

“...Pretending we don’t care about each other…”

Sans’s eye sockets widened, “B-but, b-bro…”

“Sans, I want to protect you, I promise you when we come home it’ll be just like it always has, I just...don’t want people attacking you for caring about me.”

“O-okay, Pap…” He whispered.

“...Call me boss outside the house from now on.” He watched the other closely, the younger nodded sadly, looking like he was about to cry, Papyrus couldn’t help but move over and bring him into a hug, “I love you, Sans…” He murmured.

“I love you to, Papyrus…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look, remember when I said his sons met more to him than his job? Yea, I wasn't lying about that. (｡◕‿◕｡)
> 
> Also, hey look at that, finally we know why Sans calls him boss. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
> 
> The chapters should get at least a bit longer from here on out, I hope. Not like that four and five weren't a little longer than the past three. Even on google docs, but still.


	6. The First

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope can be cracked, even if you believe it can't be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so, this chapter was the first one I've written while I've been uploading the story, from here on out I can't be sure when I'll update for certian since I have stuff I have to do in real life sometimes and a bunch of other reasons. Anyway, I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Wowie! This turned into 11 pages! On google docs, it actually ended on the top of a 12th page, but that's only two small parts.

Sans was surprised when he saw a child walking through the doors of the Ruins. He didn’t often come back this far from his post, at least not alone. Even now, though he acted like a tough guy when he was around Snowdin and anywhere else - of course, with the exception of his home or even around Gerson -, but when he was all alone he’d sometimes let his guard down. Honestly, he let his guard down very seldomly, if only because of all the trouble it got him into for the past 6 and a half years, when Papyrus wasn’t with him, he was very vulnerable. There was, however, a pleasant surprise to be had when it came to the child, they seemed to have been just as scared and worried as he was, following them back to his post was easy.

He didn’t want to put up his front to scare the kid, it wasn’t like any other monsters besides Papyrus came this far into the woods most of the time, so once they’d reached the small bridge that lead back towards his post he’d stopped them, “H-h-heya kiddo, you look like you’re pretty scared.” The monster called to the child, who jumped and turned, waving a stick towards him, which only made him laugh, “Heh heh...hey kid, calm down, I’m not gonna hurt ya.”

His red pupil watched as the child slowly brought the stick down from the air, looking at him with a confused look. They hadn’t been treated this way in the Ruins, was the only conclusion he could come to, not that it was much of a surprise. His soul flickered as he thought about the pain they must have gone through just to get out here, he moved his hand out, “I’ll help ya, kiddo.” He smiled, watching as the child took his hand hesitantly, shaking it a moment before he watched them pull it back to sign. Sans could read sign language, if only because his father had taught him, on rare occasions his father fell into spells where he wouldn’t wish to speak, so he’d use his magic to conjure up hands to sign to the boys. He and Papyrus had occasionally used it when outside to communicate themselves, so others didn’t know what they were saying. Remembering his father made him clench his hidden hand into a fist, after all, besides all the good memories it brought up it also reminded him of _that day._

‘You...aren’t going to attack me?’ The young one signed to him, causing him to shake his head, ‘But...why?’

“Heh, I have no reason to attack you, kiddo… My name is Sans, Sans the Skeleton, by the way.” He smiled, probably looking rather menacing as he saw the other jump back, then again his one golden tooth was also probably a shocker. If he was being completely honest, he looked so much different from when he was a child, back then both of his sockets would have lit up with red pupils to signal him using his magic eyes, now only his left socket lit up. There was a crack going down the right side of his skull that ended a few inches above his socket, along with the one golden tooth that filled a gap in his smile.

After a few awkward moments of standing there, Sans moved forward a bit, “If ya wanna get home, we should probably head past here, follow me.” His posture changed slightly from when he first saw the kid at this point, getting a little more relaxed as he realized, for once in his life, he wasn’t in danger, after all, if this kid managed to get through the Ruins without getting dust on them, it had to mean that the kid had a good heart, right? Maybe they’d all finally get out of here, after all, it wasn’t like it was something he’d been hoping for all these years. Once they were by his post he looked around, “Uh, actually kiddo, I dunno if we should go farther just yet.” He said, turning to the child who looked confused.

‘Why not, Sans?’

“I just have a feeling something will happen if we wait a bit.” He said, already aware that his brother would be coming any minute to make sure he was alright.

‘I don’t understand.’

“Well, ya see kiddo, I have an older brother who checks up on me, you might want to-” Before he could finish his statement the sound of footsteps was heard.

“Sans! You lazy asshole, are you keeping your sockets open for a human?!” A booming voice called out, causing the child to tense and look rather scared.

“Yeah Boss, I’m on it.” Sans replied dryly as another monster started to appear behind them, making the child shake once he was close enough to see his face. He had jagged teeth and stood about a foot taller than the other, maybe more, both eyes holding red pupils, his right socket had two scratch marks going through it. The shorter turned to look up at him, the slight breeze ruffling the fur of his hood, his posture relaxed as he watched the taller monster get closer. Watching closely Sans noted the change in posture his brother usually had when he came closer to them being alone, he saw him go from holding himself tall and proud to deflating slightly as he came to stand right in front of him, “Pap…” The smaller monster murmured.

“You know I hate doing this, just as much as you do, Sans.” Papyrus sighed, moving one gloved hand up to rest on the other’s skull, rubbing over the crack gently, “It’s the worst thing you have to deal with.”

“Eh, I’d say the worst thing I deal with is Undyne.” The younger only shrugged as he said that, moving both hands from his pockets as looked up at his brother, both his sockets holding white pupils. He made a gesture with one hand, both of them covered with fingerless gloves, to the child behind himself, “But, uh...bro, we might have something to look forward too soon.”

“What do you mean Sans?” The taller raised a brow, looking behind his brother and letting his sockets land on the young child there, he suddenly felt a wave of relief. What he saw had to be nothing but a dream, this couldn’t be real at all, could it? After all the time that they’d talked about what would happen if a human showed up… It was happening now? There was no way, “You’re kidding…” Was all the elder could say as he saw the child change their tense stance.

“Pap, it’s not a joke, and they managed to get here without a trace of dust...maybe we’ll get out of here…” Sans’ voice was quiet as he turned his skull, casting a glance at the small child.

‘Sans, I...don’t understand…’

“Don’t understand what, kiddo?”

‘Why are things so different than back there?’

Both monsters cringed slightly, Sans’ sockets going dark a moment before his red eye came back, “Heh, uh...kid, it’s not much different from here on out… Honestly, there aren’t many monsters who’ll be nice to ya, not like Pap and I… I mean you… Heard what we said to each other before.”

‘Then why are you-’

“Human, we are caring toward one another because we have no one else. Sans is my younger brother, so I wish him to be safe all the time…”

‘But why...why do you act like that?’

“Because, it has to be done so others do not use our relationship and care for each other as a weapon against us.”

‘Use your bond...as a weapon?’

“Yes, human, it’s something others would do for sure.”

Sans turned completely around, watching the child closely to see how they were taking the news. Then again, he assumed they didn’t quite comprehend, at least yet, or so he thought.

‘You mean...they’d kill you like they tried to kill me?’

Papyrus’ hand slid from the smaller skeleton’s head watching him closely, it seemed like Sans was rather tense, not that the elder could fault him for that, it wasn’t like their lives were really all that amazing. He sighed, making sure the other wasn’t going to do something that could signal other monsters to them, not that he was overly worried about that.

“Kiddo, it’s not like I’m the strongest monster around, I can’t afford people finding out about something like this.”

“Sans…”

“It’s true, Pap, you know that… If someone took you and used you against me, I’d be dust. Doesn’t matter how good I am at dodging…” The shorter skeleton grumbled, clenching his fists.

‘Sans, are you...alright?’

“Heh, yea kiddo, I’m fine…” He looked to the side a moment, “Hey, uh, I think we should get out of here… You got a long way to go if you wanna get back home.”

Papyrus flicked his eyes up to the child, watching them.

‘About what you said earlier with me having a kind heart, what were you talking about with getting out of here..?’

The taller skeleton blinked a moment before sighing once more, “You see, human… We’re trapped here by a barrier that needs 7 human souls to break it, currently _the king_ is in possession of 6 and yours would be the last, however…” He stopped a moment, hearing the shorter walk off towards the direction he’d emerged from a bit ago, “Well, Sans and I have no intent on hurting you and taking your soul, for you to get through the Ruins with no dust on you, it’s an amazing feat, honestly. If you could do that… Perhaps you could get from Snowdin all the way to Asgore without killing and if that happens, and you can befriend the king… Maybe, well...you could help us get out of here.”

‘But how am I supposed to do that?’

“Well, I believe in you and I’m sure Sans does as well, as long as you’re determined...you should be able to do it.”

The child tilted their head, watching the elder brother, ‘If I can get you out of here...will things change up there too?’

“I’d imagine so, us monsters would be on the surface as well at that point, so…”

‘If there are more monsters like you two, I’m sure it’ll be better.’

“I’m not sure there are, but if you’re not going to give up just because of that, I’m sure you could change some of the other monsters’ minds.”

They seemed to light up, ‘You really think so, Papyrus?’

“I do.” He smiled, before turning, “I think we should head off now, you need to get through Snowdin before you can do anything else.”

With that they started off, Sans falling back next to the child a moment, “Kiddo, I’ll watch out for ya, okay?”

They smiled, nodding as the younger skeleton moved up next to his brother, “Sans, you need to put more fucking effort into your work ethic.” Papyrus said, his voice sounding like a knife as he returned to hold himself proud and strict.

“Yea, yea, whatever boss.” Sans grumbled, looking away, the act seemed harder for him to put up because he was full of a hope he didn’t think he’d ever really had for getting to the surface.

After a while the kid was through Snowdin and Sans was making good on his promise on helping them out through the rest of the Underground, though he honestly hated making them because they were a hassle for the most part. He sighed, stopping by Gerson’s shop just as the kid left, “Hey, Gerson.”

“Well, if it isn’t Sans, how are ya, kiddo?” The tortoise asked, leaning back in the chair he had set up in the store.

The skeleton walked further into the store, looking around, “I’m good, I guess, can’t really complain too much.”

“What brings ya to this neck of the woods without Papyrus?”

“Oh, I’m helping the human get around, sort of.”

“Sort of?” He raised a brow, watching the skeleton.

“Well, ya’know, I’m making sure they stay alive and stuff, keeping a socket out for them.”

“Like what I did for you boys?”

“...Yea, actually…” Sans smiled, turning to Gerson once more, “Actually, I wanted to ask you about that.”

“About what, kiddo?”

“Well, why did you always look out for us? I mean, no one else really cared about what happened to us or dad, why did you-”

“Heh, you’ve been wondering that for a long time, huh, Sans?”

“Actually, yea… I just… Don’t get it.”

“Mmm, well kiddo, I’ve been close with your family for a long time, even before your dad was born.”

“Really, Gerson?”

“Of course, your great grandpa and my son were friends and fought in the battle against the humans together under me. Unfortunately, my boy was a casualty of the war, but I stayed close with your family through the years. Your grandfather was born down here after we were sealed and I helped out with him, as you know your father was born before the incident with the king’s son, before anything bad happened. It was later in life for your grandfather at that point though, so I stepped in again, if only because I knew it would probably be a bit of a strain. Gaster was never to difficult to deal with, however. He was young when the king’s children were killed, but your family still carried some hope, even after that. It was amazing, even after losing so much, you managed to stay alive and thrive in your own way. It’s amazing you guys have kept hope.”

Nodding the skeleton looked around a moment, before sighing, “I guess everyone has their own feelings about that, huh?”

“Well, after what happened, of course most people don’t care about anything than getting back at the humans. I suppose a lot changed from when the king basically declared war on the human race to this point, but it’s good to know there are some pockets of hope.” Gerson sat back, “So, you’re keeping an eye on the little kiddo that just came through here?”

“Yeah, I should get going… Thanks, Gerson.” Sans waved before leaving.

“See ya kiddo.”

“Sure thing, I’ll come get you when the barrier’s open.”

“Heh, I bet you will.”

It didn’t take long for the kid to get to Hot Land, amazingly getting past Undyne, Sans had to teleport to get away from the warrior, still not wanting to chance anything. He looked up at the lab that stood in his way, remembering the last time he was in that building always made him angry. Grumbling he teleported up through the area, making sure the human would be alright, so they could hopefully get out of here. Eventually, even though he wasn’t expecting it, he’d ended up right outside New Home, honestly Sans wasn’t sure what he should do. He got very anxious because he realized how close he was to where the king was, his sockets going completely dark as he remember the last time he’d honestly see the huge boss monster. Without a second thought he pushed forward, walking into a long corridor, maybe if he waited here he could give the kid some more reassurance before they faced Asgore? That seemed like more than a good idea to him, so he leaned against one of the pillars and waited patiently.

It didn’t take long for him to hear footsteps, turning to face the door he’d entered from he saw the small form the the human he’d been helping. He watched them moving closer and noticed how they seemed even more worried than before, what had happened since the last time he’d checked on them? Watching them come closer and almost jump from seeing him made him really worried, “Hey kiddo, how are ya?”

‘S-Sans? You came up here..? How did you get here without dealing with Mettaton or...Alphys?’

“Ah, that’s a secret buddy, but… What happened to you? What was said?” The skeleton tensed a bit as he watched the child closely, it was like this was painful for them suddenly.

‘Alphys said if I wanna go home, I...I have to _kill_ Asgore…’

“You, uh, only have to kill him if you want to take his soul to get through the barrier, but uh… You haven’t killed anyone on your way here so…”

‘Sans! She said I had no choice!’

“Listen skeleton, they’re terrified of having to kill someone, can’t you tell? Why hadn’t you told them about this before?” The small flower that was wrapped around the child’s shoulders said.

Sans sighed, “Because, I wasn’t planning on them having to kill anyone. Technically, as long as he’s weak, the kid could just as easily use the 6 other souls to break the barrier. I’m not saying my plan is perfect or foolproof, but… Alphys was also talking about only what it takes for _one_ person to cross the barrier, human or monster… Not break it down.”

‘So...I don’t have to kill anyone to break it down?’

“Technically, no. I could hold him in place while you break the barrier...unless you both want to go around a little more. I never really liked Alphys, I have a feeling there’s something up with her.”

“Like what, bonehead?”

“Look, I’m not sure, okay..?” Sans grumbled, his eye flaring, he really wasn’t in the mood for this at all, “Kid, I’m sorry… I honestly didn’t know everything about the barrier, I only know what little I grew up knowing… If you need help, I’m willing to try to do anything to help, okay?”

‘You’d really help me, Sans..?’

“Haven’t I been doing that this whole time?”

It took a bit of coaxing but finally everything started falling into place, amazingly Sans hadn’t actually needed to help. He did watch from afar to make sure everything worked out though, eventually at least.He did watch from afar to make sure everything worked out though, eventually at least. After everything was said and done, something Sans hadn’t expected to happen did, it would never have crossed his mind but the flower the child had picked up ended up killing Asgore on his last sliver of health and taking the souls, after that he didn’t remember what happened. Eventually Sans shook his head and was back in the corridor, alone. He had no clue what was going on but it seemed to take the kid a lot longer to reach him this time.

“H-heh heh, hey there kiddo.” He said, feeling like something was going on, he wasn’t sure what it was though. After a while the kid left to fight Asgore again, something was off but Sans wasn’t sure what it was. He watched in on the battle, making sure nothing happened to the child before getting a call, he had noticed the flower wasn’t around the kid’s shoulders, but he brushed it off. Looking down at his phone he chuckled, before clicking the answer button, “Yea, boss?”

“Sans, where are you?” Papyrus sounded like he was in a rush, “How is the human?”

“Oh, uh… I’m right in the castle, actually, what’s wrong? They’re fine.”

“I’m coming, I’ll be there soon.”

“Boss wai-” Sans heard the line go quiet before he could finish, damn it why was his brother coming all the sudden? He was so confused, everything was a blur from that point on, at least for a while. The last thing he remembered was standing next to Papyrus and looking at someone he had never seen before, then everything went dark for a while. When he finally became aware of his surroundings again, he looked around, seeing the child on the ground and everyone else who he was with standing around.

Confused the short skeleton moved over, he looked over the child and, as if it was something he knew from the start, whispered, “Frisk, ya alright?”

It took a few moments but the child got up, shaking their head and looking around, maybe they were worried about something? Once they’d looked at everyone they’d smiled, each of the other monsters - barring of course Papyrus, as he could read sign language - spoke to Frisk while they listened, Sans watched them closely as they walked towards him and his brother.

‘Sans, thank you so much for all your help!’

“Hey kiddo, it was no problem.”

‘Without you I don’t know if I would have had the strength to keep going after what Alphys said…’

Sans blushed, rubbing the back of his skull as his brother chuckled, “O-okay, okay kid, you don’t have to say anymore.”

“Oh yes, Frisk, the barrier is gone, we could leave all thanks to you.” Papyrus smiled.

Frisk’s smile was wide, ‘Lets leave.’

“You guys go on ahead, I have something I need to do.” Sans said, watching his brother tilt his head as the other monsters started off.

“Sans, what are you going to do?” Papyrus asked in a hushed tone.

“Going to get Gerson, Pap.”

“You’re going to bring him here?”

“I told him I’d get him when the barrier was open, don’t worry, I won’t take too long. Go on ahead, bro.”

Papyrus shook his head, “I’ll wait for you right here.”

Sans sighed, “Alright bro, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” With that he walked out of the room and teleported to Gerson’s shop, walking in, “Gerson.”

The tortoise blinked, looking up at him, “Hey there kiddo, what’s up?”

“The barrier’s open, I came to keep my promise.”

The older monster laughed, “For someone who hates making them, you sure keep them pretty well.”

Sans only shrugged, “Come on, Pap’s probably waiting for us.”

“You two kids sure are eager, aren’t ya?” The elder laughed, standing and walking over to the skeleton.

“It’s only something a lot of us have been waiting for.”

“I know, I know.” He shook his head, “So are we walking or is the Riverperson still ferrying people around?”

“I ‘unno about them, I teleported here though.” The skeleton monster said, which seemed to catch the other off guard.

“You...teleported? Gaster couldn’t teleport, could he..?”

“I don’t think I got the ability from dad.”

“Well, whatever the case, let’s get out of here.”

Sans nodded, as the other touched his shoulder, teleporting back to the castle and walking into the room where his brother waited.

“Sans, Gerson, you’re both alright.”

“Of course we are, Papyrus.” Gerson chuckled, looking towards the way out, “Honestly I never thought I’d be leaving here.”

Papyrus smiled, “Neither did I, we should go, I’m sure Frisk is waiting for us.”

They walked outside, seeing Frisk still standing there with the others, Sans’ sockets widening as he looked at the setting sun. His mouth opened slightly in disbelief, running up near the edge of the cliff, he was so amazed, hearing Gerson laugh from behind him, the footsteps of his brother coming up to stand next to him. The view was really something he could get use to, the sky was starting to change different colors as the huge gas orb started to sink down below the horizon. He felt at peace, and for the first time in a long time - at least while he was outside, he let himself crack. Tears built up at the edges of his sockets as he heard the others around them speaking, his mind couldn’t focus on that though.

Small white pupils looked out over the landscape, studying it before he heard the others beginning to walk away, he felt his brother hovering over him. Finally, when he thought they were alone, he let his red translucent tears streak down his cheekbones, “It’s… so much more beautiful than I could have imagined…” He mumbled, turning to look up at his brother.

Papyrus smiled fondly and pat the other’s skull gently, “It truly is brother, much more magnificent than most anything I’ve seen in the Underground.”

Sans had no clue what his brother met by ‘most anything’, nothing in that hellhole could be more beautiful than this, right? It just couldn’t, could it? Shaking his head he sighed, “Should we get going and catch up?”

“Perhaps.” The taller sighed.

“You kids go enjoy yourselves, I’m going to watch the sunset a while longer.” The tortoise spoke from Sans’ other side.

“Are ya sure, Gerson?” The shorter monster questioned.

“Yea, it’s been a long time since I’ve been up here.”

Nodding both brothers decided they were going to leave the elder alone, walking down the ridge and heading into the forest below. They searched around for a bit, spotting Frisk, who saw them and ran over, hugging Sans. The skeleton monster blushed and pat their head.

“Sans, you guys could live here if you wanted.” They whispered, which caught both brothers off guard.

“Wait kiddo, you can-”

Frisk looked up, cutting him off, “I only talk when I feel safe around someone, and you helped me a lot...both of you did. Thank you so much.”

And with that exchange the brothers only laughed, Sans ruffling the child’s hair. 

It took some time, but they ended up adjusting to life on the surface. Just like Frisk had said, the brothers took up living in the forest, building their home just close enough to the small city the other monsters built to go in safely to get food and come back home. They lived happily, no fear of harming each other or of having to hurt anyone else, life was happier for them than it had been in a long while.

...For sometime, at least.

A year after reaching the surface, something happened. Something no one would have expected or been able to presage for that matter. Except for one person, apparently.

Sans walked up to his room in the house they built on the surface, waving to Papyrus from the stairs, “Night bro, heading to bed.”

“Good night Sans, sleep well.”

The younger sibling nodded, yawning and turned the corner to head down the hall, opening his door quietly and going in. He didn’t feel the need to shut it, so he left it partially ajar and walked to his bed, sinking down onto the mattress and falling asleep almost immediately.

Howling wind banged at the window to his room, that was strange, it was such a nice day without even a breeze, why was it so harsh suddenly? Grumbling the skeleton turned around, facing his window and forcing his eyes open, only to shoot straight up in bed and stare at the snow covered trees that were barely visible from the window. He remembered it being summer when he went to sleep, why were the trees covered in snow?! Shaking he used his magic to turn on his light, sockets widening when he looked around the room, this _wasn’t his room._ Or, rather, not his current room, this was his room from when they lived in Snowdin.

Without realizing it, Sans let out a horrified screech, backing up against the wall. Tears built up in his sockets, this couldn’t be happening, could it? There was no way this could be happening! This made no sense, none at all! He heard the sound of rushed footsteps and a knock at his door.

“Sans?! Brother are you alright?!” Papyrus called from the other side, obviously worried.

“P-Pap…” Was all the younger brother could manage, before he heard his door open and felt a shadow over him, the next thing he knew was he was being pulled into his brother’s arms, who had sat down on his bed.

“Sans, I’m here, it’s alright brother, I’m here for you.” The elder brother said reassuringly.

Sans gripped his brother’s pajama shirt burying his face in it, “B-bro, why are we back here?”

Papyrus stiffened, which made Sans look up and see his brother’s face contort in confusion, “Sans, what do you mean? We’ve always lived here in Snowdin.”

“N-no, we were on the surface, we were happy! Everything was better!” The younger seemed distressed.

“Sans...it was a dream.”

Shaking his head the smaller monster was so confused, it didn’t make sense, that was all _a little too real_ to be a dream, “N-no, Pap, we were in a forest, living just outside a city with the other monsters there, we saw the stars and the sunset and-”

“Sans...please...no more…” Papyrus sighed, petting his brother’s skull, “It’s all just a dream…”

The smaller monster blinked, looking up at his brother, what was going on? Why couldn’t Papyrus remember? What had brought them back here?! Nothing made sense, at least, not until they ended up downstairs after not being able to fall asleep again, looking at the calendar Sans backed away in shock, it was two years ago! This couldn’t be happening, it made no sense! It made sense that Papyrus wouldn’t remember but why did he… What was going on? He was so confused. Sighing he waited everything out, the days felt longer than ever until the human finally came.

He stopped them as they got close to his post, “Frisk...kiddo, what’s going on?” He asked as they saw him, he seemed scared, which made them worry.

“I-I found out I could reset...I wasn’t expecting to go back so far but...I just wanted to help everyone again.” They said, smiling at him.

“...Okay kid, but...please don’t keep doing this, I...I don’t think I can take it.” His only response was a firm nod of agreement. Sighing he tried to play things out exactly the same way as before, with the same result as before…

Until it all reset again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look! I explained why Gerson is so nice, I honestly didn't think I would actually make sure I did that.  
> Also, Sans never liked Alphys at all, there was just something about her he couldn't stand.


	7. Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It only takes a while for things to fall into place, or in this case, out of place. Coming to terms with something you never thought about before is very difficult, even for the bravest of souls.

Sans pressed the bottom of his palms against his shut sockets, slightly grinding against them, _‘Again.’_ That was the only thing he could muster at the moment. The kid was nice and all, sure, Frisk was as nice as they came… _Or so he’d thought._ Sighing he played through the last reset over and over again, Frisk had come through covered in dust from the Ruins, seeing that young kid like that made his soul sink. It wasn’t the first time they had dust on them, and he was sure it wasn’t the last. Something had changed in the kid, but somehow the last time he and his brother were left, basically alone. There had been very few monsters left in the Underground at the point where Frisk left, but Sans and Papyrus had been spared for some reason. The first time they came out with dust on them it was only a little, and they’d been shaking a bit, now, however… He wasn’t sure how long it would be.

Had Frisk really grown tired of saving them so quickly? No… There had to be another force driving them to this, didn’t there? Was it just because...they really were bored? It didn’t make any sense to him, his mind was swimming, there was no way it’d only taken 100 times to get bored, unless it had to do with what happened once they were above ground… Sans didn’t know everything that happened with all the other monsters every time they got above ground. He mostly didn’t know because he and Papyrus managed to keep their house in the same secluded spot _each and every time,_ he just couldn’t understand. He felt a huge weight on his shoulders, one he still wasn’t use to after all this time, even 115 resets was to much for him. His hope was cracking more and more each time he woke back up in Snowdin.

It was to the point he’d taken up drinking, well, more so than the occasional bottle of mustard at least, full out binge drinking when he really needed it. Chillby had been at least a little surprised by the sudden increase in time the younger skeleton brother was coming to the bar, but regardless he said nothing, it was none of his business, nor did he honestly care. In fact, that’s where he was right now, at Chillby’s, a half downed bottle of mustard in front of him as he tried to hold in all the pain and hurt he was feeling. If he was being completely honest with himself, he honestly didn’t remember how much he’d had already, he’d started feeling slightly tipsy with at least the last bottle, but which one that was at this point was as good as anyone’s guess. Sans stopped counting after at least the third or fourth one he drank, he wasn’t even sure himself if it was the fifth or sixth he was on, Chillby sure as hell wasn’t going to make it a point to tell him either, even if he asked. Again, if he was being honest, he didn’t want to know because he didn’t want to tell his brother how much he’d had, that was sure to be the first question he’d get asked if Papyrus came to get him, or he managed to get home on his own. It was pretty late, the other would probably come to get him soon anyway. His mind drifted off as he made a circular motion following the bottom of the bottle on the bar.

He’d noticed something quite a few resets ago, something in his soul that he couldn’t exactly place, it was while he was on the surface just spending time with his older brother. The memory played in his mind like it was just yesterday: his soul fluttering slightly as Papyrus stroked his skull, a light dusting of red on his cheekbones as the watched T.V. together and laughed at the stupid love story playing before their eyes, it was a sappy movie that was for damn sure, but being with his brother made it at least funny. Grumbling he pushed the feelings down, not quite able to understand what they were, it wasn’t like he’d been able to talk to anyone about this, hell he’d never even open up to the bartender about this. What was he even supposed to say? It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried at least 3 or 4 times already to tell Papyrus everything they’d been through only to be told they were all dreams of a better life or terrible mixes of a nightmare and safe haven. He laid his head down on the wood of the bar and watched the bottle moving around with his eye, nothing was making much sense for him right now. Maybe it was because of all the hard times he’d been through, or the fact he wasn’t sure of his feelings about everything either, it wasn’t like he could really talk about these things anyway, opening up could kill you in this world, and he couldn’t put Papyrus through that.

Absentmindedly he continued to roll the bottle for a few more moments before sitting up and opening his jaw, placing the tip between his teeth and drinking. _‘Tomorrow…’_ He mused, it would all start again tomorrow, Frisk would come back into Snowdin forest and either be covered in dust or just like they had been all those times before, clean. Somehow he highly doubted it was going back to how it had been, he could even begin to imagine why he felt this way, he just did. He watched as the fire elemental slid another bottle to him, did he just assume he’d want another? Honestly, that wouldn’t surprise him at this point, barely anything surprised him anymore, maybe it was because of how long he’d been living through everything, who could really be sure. Once more his mind drifted to what happened in a previous reset, as he absentmindedly drank the remainder of the current bottle of mustard he held. His grip continued to get tighter as he tried to squeeze more out during his thoughts, very unaware that there was none left, it took a moment but the cap detached when he squeezed a little harder than he should have, which roused him from his thoughts. The color that dusted his cheeks deepened a little, ashamed that he’d managed to not pay attention to how little had been left, he reattached the cap and tossed the bottle before picking up the new one, just as the door was flung open. He didn’t even need to turn around, Sans knew all too well who had come, the sound of his brother’s boots hitting the wooden floor with the same force they usually did came up behind him before he was spun around, tilting his head up to look at the elder.

Pulling the bottle from his teeth he smiled a bit lazily, “Need somethin’, boss?”

“You worthless garbage, you were supposed to be home an hour ago!” Papyrus screamed in his face, to which he only shrugged, returning the bottle to his mouth and taking a small drink of the tangy substance that filled the bottle. The older brother grumbled, throwing the younger over his shoulder before turning on his heels and heading out.

The smaller skeleton took the bottle from his mouth, “Thanks Chillz, see ya later…” He waved slightly, his mind still swimming from being tipsy, a small chuckle left him as he heard the other groan just as they got outside the bar.

“You’re so fucking useless, Sans, you know you’re not supposed to spend your days drinking until you can’t function.” His brother’s voice sounded a little strained, like he was trying to keep himself from getting upset with him.

“Heh, sorry boss, guess I just needed to let loose.” He sounded like he was getting drunk, or at least to others he probably did, especially his brother. Sans didn’t really slur his words when he was drunk, at least not until he was at the point of almost passing out.

Papyrus tightened his grip over Sans’ back and the rest of the walk remained quiet, with the exception of Sans enjoying his drink. It seemed like his older brother was in a bad mood, not that it surprised him all that much, he _had_ stayed out longer than he probably should have, at this point it was just something he did to drown out the pain of all the lost happiness he’d suffered up until now. Remembering Frisk’s promise so long ago made him scowl slightly as they finally got home and he was set on the couch. He turned his sockets up as his brother stood over him, he didn’t look pleased in the slightest, that didn’t surprise the younger skeleton in the least, after all, he _had_ promised to be home earlier and he hadn’t met to make his brother come and get him.

“Sans...you _promised_ you’d come home early today…” The elder sounded rather disappointed, almost like he was fighting a force that couldn’t be changed no matter how hard he tried to change it.

“...Sorry Pap, I just needed to clear my head.” Sans looked away, not able to hold the other’s gaze, he hated doing this to his older brother, Papyrus had once told him when he stayed out late it made the elder worry he’d been dusted. He moved the bottle over to the table nearest the spot he was sitting, watching the other skeleton move over and sit down next to him.

A long sigh left the elder’s mouth as he looked at his brother, “I don’t see how getting drunk clears one’s mind, Sans.” He shook his head, looking at the shorter, he seemed worried, _very_ worried. Sans felt himself almost sink into the cushions of the couch, he hated this, making the other worry so much honestly hurt him, in all the resets the constant in his life was his brother, why did he make him worry so much? He moved his skull a bit before freezing once he felt a familiar gloved hand on the top, petting him, he practically melted into the loving contact.

“You know Sans, I just want to make sure I don’t lose you as well…” The other whispered, watching his younger brother closely. The smaller monster made a sound that was somewhat akin to a purr, his neck craned slightly to press up against the covered palm of his brother, “I love you, Sans… Please don’t scare me like this…”

The younger opened his eyes, white pupils looking over at the other who still held a rather worried expression, his soul sank, his brother cared so much about him and he’d been putting him through pain for the past few resets… Even if Papyrus didn’t remember, which Sans was grateful for, even if he hated the torment remembering put on him, it was something he wouldn’t wish on his brother, “...I’m sorry Pap, I know you love me, I love you too…” He whispered, which seemed to lighten the other’s look.

“I made dinner, Sans...if you’re hungry, that is.”

The smaller finally realized just how hungry he was, he actually hadn’t eaten at Chillby’s, only drank, he nodded and almost whined when his brother pulled his hand away so he could go get their food. Sans watched his brother disappear into the kitchen, the elder brother had learned to cook from their father before he died and only seemed to get better each time he tried, then again it could have something to do with the recipe book they had, but the smaller monster wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until the taller returned that he noticed what they would be eating, how he hadn’t smelled the herbs his brother used to cook the pasta that was on their plates was beyond him, normally he could tell what the other had made just by how the house smelled. As the plate was placed on his lap Sans smiled up at his brother, “Thanks, bro.”

Papyrus nodded, sitting down next to him and turning on the TV, neither of them entirely enjoyed Mettaton’s shows (Sans in particular didn’t care for them, mostly because of all the better shows he remembered from the surface, no matter how cheesy some had been), but it was better than hearing the forks clinking against the plates. They did talk a bit while eating, nothing of consequence was spoken, just idle chit-chat, it was always something refreshing for Sans - something he enjoyed more than anything. All the time spent with his older brother gave Sans at least a little hope, it brightened his dark world a little, no one would take that from him… Right? The kid hadn’t, at least not yet, it wasn’t something he was imagining would happen either, so he tried to shake off any bad thoughts he had as they finished their meal.

It was pretty late when everything was said and done, at least for when Sans normally tried to sleep, if he even could. They would be getting up in 5 hours, or Papyrus would be, Sans might not be given some extra time, after all, the elder wasn’t too strict on the younger about being up at 6 o’clock sharp every morning. The smaller monster waved as his brother headed up the stairs and into his room before he jumped up himself and stretched, popping his spine and shaking his head then heading up to his own room. Sans took off his jacket and left it on his dresser before moving over and flopping onto his bed, having taken notice that his brother had more than likely come in and cleaned a bit as well as made the bed, sighing he crawled up to the top of the bed and pulled back the covers before sliding under them. He wasn’t sure how long it took after he got comfortable, but he knew it was at least 20 minutes before he finally fell asleep, his face buried in his pillow as he shifted slightly under what he assumed was one of his brother’s velvety blankets, which had been leftover from their father. Once he was asleep, Sans hoped he wouldn’t have any flashbacks, he called them dreams sometimes, but he knew better… He also hoped he wouldn’t have nightmares, he hated those more than the happy memories of being on the surface, if he was honest with himself. Unfortunately for him, he wasn’t lucky enough to escape without a nightmare, at least not for tonight.

In his dream he ran through Snowdin forest to get home, coming across small piles of dust as he went, going as fast as his small legs could carry him, the scent of death everywhere. His pupil darting from side to side anxiously as he tried to get home without running into any trouble, which with his luck it was a surprise he made it through without issues. However, his luck ended when he got up to his house, it was dark and seemed a bit foreboding, honestly, even when neither brother was home they tended to leave the lights on, at least on the bottom floor… But it was completely dark and almost looked like he was being pushed around in the wind that was kicked up since there happened to be a slight storm happening. If he had the ability, he knew he would have gulped, and although his entire body screamed for him to turn around, he walked forward and turned the knob, the door opening with a creak, well… This was all completely new for him to say the least. A chill ran up his spine as he slowly walked forward, not exactly sure what to expect at all, nothing like this happened before in his dreams and he just couldn’t understand it. He looked around, calling out for his brother, “Pap? Pap are you here?” Silence was the only thing he was greeted with, which gave him a bad feeling.

Walking further into the house he felt like something was wrong, very wrong, the atmosphere was tense and he couldn’t get over the dark aura that seemed to be hanging over the area. His bones rattled as he walked towards the kitchen, peeking inside and seeing no one, “Pap..?” His voice was shaking at this point, again no reply came as he moved back and headed up the steps, stopping right at his brother’s room. Papyrus never told him that he couldn’t come in, but still, he knocked before opening the door and peeking inside, he’d turned the lights on as he went through the house and the first thing he did was just that upon opening his brother’s room. Unfortunately, he was greeted with an empty space, just like the rest of his home had been, which made no sense to him and the last place to look would be his own bedroom. The small monster turned on his heels, moving towards his door slowly, was there a reason for him to be so scared..? Honestly nothing was making sense to him and he wasn’t sure what to do, opening his door without a care he looked inside once the lights were on… Nothing, yet again. This was very concerning, where would his brother be? Suddenly a terrible thought began racing through his mind as he teleported from the house, dashing to the mist covered area right outside of Snowdin. Before he reached the clearing, however; there was a crash.

Sans woke up with a start, having fallen out of his bed onto the floor, his soul was racing at a million miles a second as he looked around his room, sockets completely dark. The blanket had helped cushion his fall, but he was scared to death of his dream, to the point he assumed he’d ended up running in his sleep and moving until he ended up on the floor. Never in his life had a dream - or rather, a nightmare, scared him that much. He curled into a ball on the floor, using his magic to bring his phone over and look at the time, 4:30AM, _‘Are you kidding..? Pap’ll be getting up in an hour and a half and I won’t even be able to go to sleep again after that…’_ Sighing he put his phone back on the desk near his door, curling further into the blanket’s softness, it was better than sleeping directly on the floor, even if he wasn’t getting anymore sleep. If his day started like this, he honestly wasn’t sure what he was going to be treated with, one could only hope it wouldn’t be that terrible, but that nightmare gave him a sinking feeling that he was hoping wouldn’t end up meaning anything, though he knew better.

The minutes ticked by at an agonizingly slow pace for his liking, and he wasn’t even looking at a clock, eventually, after what felt like a day to him, he heard a soft knock on his door, which made him shift. Before his brother opened the door he was sitting upright, which had his brother startled to say the least, not just because he was wide awake already, but because he was still on the floor, “Sans...what happened? Why are you on the floor?” Papyrus questioned worriedly, moving over to the smaller monster.

His response was a shrug, “I just kinda fell out of bed, no big deal Pap, ‘m fine.” Voice monotone as he tried to hide the worry that had been eating at him for what felt like forever.

“Sans…”

“ ’s fine Pap, don’t worry.” The smaller monster yawned slightly before standing and popping his spine back into place with his stretching, watching his brother closely.

Said brother only shook his head, “Take your time coming down Sans, it’s alright.”

“ ‘s all good bro, I’ll be down in a couple minutes.”

Once the exchange was finished the elder left the room, letting Sans put on his coat and at least pick the blanket up off the floor, he didn’t exactly make the bed, but it was better than leaving the covering on the floor. Sans moved his skull around, letting his cervical vertebrae pop slightly - seeing as they’d been displaced a bit from the fall as well as staying curled in a ball, he yawned once more before walking to the door and slipping on a pair of black and red slippers then lazily shuffling out of his room. The house was already starting to smell of whatever Papyrus was cooking for breakfast, the small hint of vanilla alerted the younger brother that it was probably something they didn’t have all that often, had… Had Papyrus gone shopping while he was out drinking? It wasn’t like that was improbable, it was just a slight surprise as to him as he moved down the stairs slowly, still tired from lack of quality sleep. He shuffled over to the kitchen, looking inside and sure enough, he spotted Papyrus making batter for what he assumed was going to be pancakes. Honestly, it wasn’t as if they had breakfast food all that often, at least not pancakes and the like, normally those were for special occasions and Sans knew his birthday had passed by a month ago. Had his brother missed him enough the night before to do something this special or… Was he just being Papyrus? 

He watched the taller skeleton closely, almost like he was fixated on him, unable to look away, not like this was something new, he’d seen Papyrus cooking before but… After last night, he wasn’t sure why he suddenly couldn’t look away. It took him until his brother was right over him to noticed he’d even moved, which caused him to jump back from being so startled. The elder was holding out a plate with three fluffy pancakes on it… Wait, when had those even finished cooking? How long had Sans been staring at his brother? His sockets widened as he looked up at the other.

“Sans! You aren’t answering me, are you alright?” The other monster sounded concerned, good ol’ Papyrus, always worried about his brother.

Sans shook his head, gently taking the plate from the taller skeleton, “Y-yeah, ‘m alright bro, sorry ‘bout that.” He mumbled, walking quickly over to the couch and sitting, a light red dusting his cheekbones, _‘Sweet fuck what was I even doing that didn’t notice him walking over?!’_ He was so past confused at this point, zoned out, not even seeing his brother come to sit next to him. In fact, it took his brother actually _sitting down_ for him to be jolted from his thoughts.

“Sans, you seem troubled…” Papyrus trailed off, “Did...you have another nightmare?”

Shaking his head once again the smaller chuckled, “N-nah, ‘m fine Pap, trust me.”

“Brother, you’re lying to me.”

“Don’t worry about it Pap… ‘m fine. I promise.” And with that, they both started eating.

After a very long - at least in Sans’ opinion - and silent breakfast they both headed out, of course the smaller monster switched out his slippers for his shoes before trudging out the door. Their walk was relatively silent as well, mostly because of the aura around them, Papyrus could tell his brother wasn’t exactly telling him the truth, but he didn’t want to press him further. Eventually they got to where they split up, the younger waving as he headed up to his post, hearing his brother telling him to be careful, to which he gave a thumbs up. As he walked towards his post his sighed, well, today was the day, there was no getting around that fact - even if he knew how it probably wouldn’t work, his luck was pretty rotten, it seemed. The skeleton sat in the chair behind his post, watching the gateway where the child would walk in a couple of hours, he hoped things could be different this time, maybe go back to how they were before, but he already knew it wouldn’t happen. A sigh left him as he looked up at the ceiling above his head, “Come on kid, this is getting really tiring…” He mumbled to himself, closing his sockets and placing his arms on the table of his stand before his head rested on them.

 

The monster was startled awake by the sound of footsteps approaching suddenly, shooting straight up from his previous position, when had he even fallen asleep? It wasn’t like he honestly cared at this point, but he hadn’t met to. Sans shook his head and looked towards the bridge, well, there they were, he didn’t feel a need to stand up though, by now the kid knew anything he would say and Papyrus wasn’t exactly going to be a surprise either… However, even with that train of thought, he still stood up and walked towards the child, “Heya, kiddo.” He wasn’t graced with a response, not even a signed one, he looked them over, noticing they were covered in dust. Sans knew things weren’t going to change so soon, but he could dream, right? Sighing he turned around, “Let's just get this done with, okay, kid?” He walked forward, letting the child into the area and waiting for things to unfold like they normally did, it wasn’t like he was expecting things to be any different and from that point forward they weren’t. At least, not until Papyrus went off to fight the human.

Sans laid back against the sofa, waiting for his brother to return from his fight, which was taking a lot longer than normal, it caused the younger brother’s soul to ache as he waited. What could be taking his brother so long? This wasn’t what normally happened… After about an hour of waiting, he couldn’t take it. Standing up the small monster walked to the door, opening it and looking outside, no signs of Papyrus or the human coming back around here showed up so he started feeling even more anxious than normal. He walked outside, closing the door and looking about, “Boss? Boss ya there?” It was a reflex of his to call Papyrus that when outside, even though everyone was gone from Snowdin he couldn’t break the habit. He felt sweat beading on his skull as he walked towards the mist, “Boss, you can come out, this isn’t funny…” He called, voice shaking as he walked forward, why did this feel familiar? Suddenly his dream returned to the front of his mind and he began running, dashing off towards the entrance to Waterfall, hoping nothing bad had happened. He felt like he was out of breath from running, even though he had no lungs, he started slowing down just as he saw a small figure in the distance, at least, what he assumed to be one. Once he came up on it, however; it was very clear what it was… _A pile of dust…_ Not just any pile of dust, it had his brother’s scarf wrapped around it.

The young skeleton felt his legs give out, knees buckling as he fell to the snow in front of his brother’s remains. He shook, tears welling in his sockets, Papyrus was the only one he had left in the entire Underground, and now he was gone. His hand reached out shakily, gently touching the red fabric before he yanked it over to himself, ignoring the dust on it as he held it to his face, starting to sob. The next thing he thought of was to teleport, right to his home, into his brother’s room. Sans was a mess, holding the scarf tightly as he just barely made it onto his now deceased brother’s bed, curling into a ball and clutching the scarf like it was his only lifeline, “P-Papyrus...Papyrus no...please no…” He sobbed, tears streaking down his cheeks in a cascade, he knew something like this would be hard on him but… Why was this even worse than he ever imagined? His soul felt like it was shattered into small pieces and nothing could put it back together. He kept the scarf close, rubbing his face against it as he shook, nothing was helping… Why couldn’t he have left sooner? Why couldn’t he have checked on his brother?! Why didn’t he make sure nothing happened?! He felt so useless, so insignificant…

Until a thought popped into his head, looking down at the scarf his brother seemed to treasure more than any of his other possessions, which the younger never understood honestly - after all it had just been a small and simple birthday present from himself, he felt like he could at least try and avenge his brother. Moving his hands up, he shakily wrapped the scarf around his neck, the feelings from last night that he felt bubbling up again, he still had no idea what they were, but he couldn’t push them aside this time. After he finally felt strong enough, Sans stood and teleported to the one place he knew the kid would probably expect to see him, sitting back against a wall and waiting silently.

It took quite a while for the child to get there, but when they did Sans stood, blocking their way, which seemed to surprise them, “Sans, what are you…-”

“Kiddo, you fucked up big time, okay? You fucked up by hurting Papyrus, he never did _anything_ to deserve that, he was nothing but kind and caring to you and what do you do? _Stab him in the fucking back._ ” Sans’s socket flared with his magical eye, a fire-like wave leaving it as he summoned a few bones, “You kill my brother, I’ll get you back. To get to the king, you have to get through me first.” Frisk’s eyes widened as their soul was pulled into a battle, “You think you can just reset this world over and over without consequences, don’t you?”

The child shook, watching their once very good friend stare at them in a way they’d never seen before, it scared them more than anything, even more than Undyne had before. Honestly, Frisk was to shocked to even make a move, but they tried to mercy the other, “S-Sans, I **don’t** want to fight you… I **don’t** want to kill you, p-please…”

“You should have thought about that… **You dirty brother killer.** ” With that Sans threw his first attack, the bones barely being dodged by the child, his soul thumping as he watched them try to avoid all of them. Never before in his life had Sans ever done something like this, and if he was being honest with himself this wasn’t something he was enjoying, but he had to do something. He felt tears on his cheeks, the flaming magical aura around his eye getting more intense as Frisk continued to plead for their life, only to be tormented with wave after wave of hard to dodge attacks. Finally, he summoned something he’d never thought of summoning before, something his father showed him long ago, a _Gaster Blaster_. The child’s HP was drained completely, he felt so weak, falling to his knees and crying once more, his brother’s scarf still around his neck.

They tried to fight him again and again, or plead for their life really, but to no avail…

Sans gasped, waking up in his bed, looking all around and shaking, the snow banging against his window pane. His bones felt heavy as he pulled himself from his bed and to the door, opening it and trudging down the hall, knocking on his brother’s door. Papyrus wasn’t exactly the heaviest of sleepers, probably because of Sans, but it really didn’t matter, when his brother opened the door his pupils vanished a moment and tears streaked down his cheekbones.

“Sans wha-... Sans what’s wrong?” The taller caught himself when he saw the other’s tears, before he knew it Sans had wrapped his arms tightly around his middle, without a second thought he moved, picking his younger brother up, after removing his arms, and moving to his bed. He sat them both down, stroking his brother’s skull, “Sans are you-”

“I...I had a nightmare…” Was all Sans could manage before hugging his brother tightly, “B-bro, please don’t leave me again…”

“I could never leave you, Sans…”

All at once it dawned on his, finally, what type of feelings he had for his brother… _Love,_ and it wasn’t the normal brotherly love either. As Papyrus stroked his skull lovingly, he melted against his elder brother and tried to wrap his head around this epiphany he’d just had. This was certainly going to change a few things for him… He’d wrestle with all of this later, for now, he just needed sleep. And so that's what they did, sleep, with Papyrus' arms wrapped tightly around his younger brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, but, R.I.P. my heart, like, seriously.
> 
> Now I'm going to go listen to a stupid song.


	8. Scorched Bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans finds himself in a bad position.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy a little more angst and sadness before we start getting a little happy. :')

There were so many resets at this point Sans wasn’t sure what he was supposed to feel anymore, even if he wasn’t sure if he should keep track of them, he still managed to somehow. Frisk had changed things up, but they never had the heart to kill the younger skeleton brother, at least… Not _intentionally_. There were a number of times where Sans just couldn’t handle watching the battle between the child and his brother and right as Frisk attacked he’d jump out to shield Papyrus, he always did it with his back turned to him as well, staring right at the child as he started turning to dust. Of all the terrible things he’d seen through the resets, the look on his elder brother’s face as he scooped up his disintegrating body was one that haunted him more than anything. How many times had he jumped in to save his brother and cause and early reset at this point..? Thinking it over as he watched the snow falling around him he counted about… 20 off the top of his head. It always felt worse when he remembered the number of times he’d seen the look of pure despair on the other’s face, but he had to protect Papyrus for his own sense of self worth. After the first reset he’d lost his elder brother and ended up finally realizing the feelings he held for him... It tended to hurt much worse to see his dust. Honestly he was just waiting for the moment Frisk gave in and finally killed him of their own accord, he hoped it’d be sooner rather than later.

He sighed, sitting back and thinking over everything that he’d been through, rubbing his now closed sockets with the area of his hands the connected to his wrists. Sans grumbled, everything was so complicated and he hated thinking it over, he really did, but where he was alone that’s all he _could_ do - think. As much as he remembered - some of it almost swirled together, in an almost confusing fashion, not that he could fix that, of course. He rubbed his hands against his sockets more, groaning a moment before pulling them back from his face, what was he going to do? The kid wouldn’t come through for another few days, just like always, he was stuck. Stuck in a never ending cycle, from what he could see, and it was driving him crazy at this point. The smaller monster moved, looking at the small clock at his post, it was already that late? He couldn’t believe it, he’d been here longer than normal, sighing he stood and teleported to his favorite restaurant, maybe some mustard could help, sure he hated worrying his brother, but what else could he do to get the edge off? Shaking his head he pushed the door open and was greeted with the other patrons, all of whom didn’t look surprised to see him, unless the fact that he was late arriving was taken into account.

Sans shrugged his shoulders, waving his hands at the monsters before they stopped staring at him, making his way over to the bar and hopping onto a stool. The minute he sat the there was a bottle slid to him, he waved and opened it, drinking the condiment, it tasted a bit strange - he ignored it though. Honestly, Sans just wanted to feel less stressed, he needed something to do that and the first thing he thought of was drinking… It was like this for the longest time after all, it had been over 100 resets at this point since drinking became a bad habit of his. In fact, if he were to hazard a guess over, he’d probably say it was at least 200 or more resets ago, then again he was living anywhere from the same week to year over and over again, with seemingly no end in sight. It was almost too much, _almost_ , Papyrus was really the only thing that kept him going no matter what… It was almost sad, but he couldn’t deny that what he felt for his brother was pure and unadulterated love, he just wanted to be with Papyrus, after all, who had always been there when he needed someone? Papyrus. Who was the one who always came looking for him when he was out late? Papyrus. Even when he had nightmares, Papyrus was there to pick up his sobbing form and hold him close, telling him everything was okay and he wasn’t going anywhere… Even if Sans knew that wasn’t always going to be true. He always held a little hope that it would be, however; if only because he never wanted it to happen, after all, Papyrus really was his world… With each passing reset since his realization, he came to terms with the fact that he was falling deeper and deeper under the vile of love, his soul would always beat quickly every time Papyrus touched him in a loving way, even though he knew it was a platonic affection from his older brother (that’s what he assumed, at least).

An hour passed without him even noticing, only half way into a second bottle of mustard and feeling a bit tipsy, which didn’t seem right at all. His body swayed slightly on the chair as he looked over at the owner, who was coming closer, “Sans, you seem to be having a hard time sitting upright, do you need assistance?” He seemed genuine, and Sans knew him fairly well considering the other timelines… The small skeleton nodded, watching the other closely, his normal tenseness seeming to be gone along with not feeling like he had to look over his shoulder for some reason. Sans wasn’t use to feeling so at ease, at least not when he was outside his home.

Sans stood shakily, the other grabbing his gloved hand as he chuckled, “Heh… *hic* Ssssorry Chillz, not *hic* sure what’s up with m-me today, heh heh…”

The bar was already close to closed and Sans didn’t notice Chillby throwing the other customers warning glares before they scurried out, the only thing he was fully focused on was trying to stay upright. Even being made completely of bones, his legs felt like jelly underneath himself, he wasn’t use to this even when he was on the Riverperson’s boat. The state he was in currently wasn’t a good one, in fact, he was disoriented to the point he ended up being brought to the back of the bar. Sans felt dizzy, as he was led into a small room he blinked, looking around rather confused, this wasn’t somewhere he’d been before… Not in any resets could he remember ever being in the back area of Chillby’s, “H-hey, uh...heh, Chillz, *hic* w-what’re we doin’ b-baaack here?”

He received no verbal response, but felt his jacket being taken from him, said garment falling to the floor when he tried to turn and see what was happening, nearly falling over in the process. The bartender chuckled as the smaller monster stumbled, trying to regain his footing, only to be taken aback when elemental lifted his red sweater, “F-fuuckin’ whaddya think yer doin’?” The skeleton asked, trying to force his clothing back down, sounding rather upset as he looked at the other’s face.

“Now, now Sans… Don’t you think you should start paying your tab back?” Chillby’s voice was smooth, purple flames crackling just enough to make the drunk monster before him pull back in fright as his top was forced off, revealing his soul that was enclosed in his ribcage, which seemed to be rising and falling in a panicked state, “Now, now, calm down, pet.”

The skeleton went rigid when he heard that word, his whole body stiff, the only exception was his soul, which was pulsing wildly behind his ribs, “C-Chiiillz, y-y’know I p-pay ya when I *hic* c-can… I-I don’t *hic* t-think this is the way to pay my t-...” He didn’t have time to finish before the owner of the bar forced him into a kiss, which left his face stinging a bit, a flaming hand was on his cheekbone, keeping him in place. The young monster wasn’t sure what he could do besides attempting to push the flickering flame away from himself, everything about this was screaming to him that it was wrong. It did take a few attempts, but eventually he stumbled back, falling onto the floor, shaking as he looked up at the elemental. His bones singed in some areas from the direct contact with the other’s flaming body, it stung so much and he wasn’t sure what he could do besides attempting to summon his bones as a form of defense, “C-Chillz, i-if y-ya get any closer I-I’ll…” He was shaking to much to even call forth and attack, tears forming in his sockets as he started scooting himself back the minute he saw the taller monster move forward.

“Sans, Sans, you can barely move, how do you think you’re going to do _anything_ to me?” The flame monster smirked as the skeleton backed into a corner. He moved above an inch away, looming over the shaking pile of bones, he looked so intimidating to Sans right now. Reaching one hand up, Chillby began to remove his tie, quickly followed by his shirt, before slowly removing his pants.

“N-no, no, no, no…” Sans shook his head, sockets snapping shut as he grabbed his skull with his hands, the tears finally spilling from his closed sockets as he cowered in the corner, hearing the belt hit the floor. His body was starting to curl in on itself… But before he had the chance he was yanked back, skull hitting the wall, his shorts pulled off exposing his pelvis. The throbbing pain he felt in his skull made his mind spin as he opened his now blurry vision to see the fire elemental right between his legs and positioning his dick at the hollow cavity in his pelvis. He attempted kicking, but to very little avail as his legs were held behind the taller monster, his hands moving from his skull to desperately swing at the other, but his vision was so impaired and he was so much smaller there was little contact.

“Come now, pet, you can’t even struggle correctly…” Chillby chuckled darkly before forcing his cock into the other, groaning as the smaller’s coccyx scraped against it ever so slightly, smirk widening as he watched the skeleton cry out in pain.

Said skeleton felt like he would be turned to dust any second, he could hear ever so faintly the sound of his phone from his jacket pocket, “P-P-Papyrus…” He choked out with a sob, almost begging his brother to hear him no matter where he was, he couldn’t fight back and the pain was to much for him to bare. His magic was failing him as he felt the other begin thrusting, he wished he was anywhere but where he was right now, even turning to dust in the middle of that snowy field in his brother’s arms was better than this…

Chillby leaned down, bringing one hand to the other’s cheek, which made him grimace from the flames licking his bones, as if they weren’t sensitive enough. He was forced to look back at the other before being pulled into a forceful kiss, it made him shudder, everything that was happening right now was so wrong and unfair. None of his magical abilities could be called forth, his mind was reeling from the sensory overload of pain, trying to push weakly once more at the other monster as he continued to sob. Sans had promised himself he’d never show weakness around another monster besides his older brother again… He failed. As he felt the other monster pick up the pace he choked back sob, nothing was going to get him out of this, he was going to die here.

...At least that’s what he thought before he heard something crash on the other side of the wall, frantic sounding steps echoing through the bar, somehow Sans managed to find the power to push the stronger monster back a bit, “P-PAPYRUS, HELP ME!” He cried out as loud as he could, hearing tables being turned as he was yanked back into the kiss.

“SANS?! SANS WHERE ARE YOU?!” The elder brother called, reaching the door and banging on it, “SANS? SANS ARE YOU IN THERE?!” Nothing but pure worry was laced in Papyrus’ voice, that was evident even to Chillby, whom pulled back from the kiss.

“Oh, your brother actually cares about you?” He smirked at the smaller monster.

Sans shook, growling a bit, “P-PAP BACK HERE! PLEASE!” He choked out, unable to handle the pain anymore, it was starting to chip away at his health, he’d trained himself to handle a lot but this was too much. Chillby got rougher, pounding into him, which only caused him to cry out, more tears leaving him as he heard the door finally be kicked in, swinging on it’s hinges as he saw the taller skeleton storming in.

Papyrus turned, seeing the bartender on top of his sobbing younger brother and growled, summoning some of his bones and as well as a few tentacles to yank the elemental off the smaller monster, once he saw Sans completely uncovered he lost it, throwing the Chillby against the wall and pinning him there with some of his bones. The elder skeleton monster was not pleased, his face shadowed and his eyes glowing fiercely as he walked over to the purple monster who was struggling against the sharp bones that had him pinned, only depleting his own health more, “...Chillby, what do you think you’re doing to _my brother_?” He hissed, a whip-like magical aura blazing from his eye as he stared directly at him.

“Well, I was just having him pay his tab, you see…” Chillby looked to the side, a crooked smirk on his face as he craned his neck to see the smaller skeleton who was cowering in the corner and crying, it was such a nice sight for him to see, “He does owe me quite a bit, after all.”

“...He could have paid you the proper way.”

“He seemed to enjoy this id-”

“Sans did not seem to be enjoying it by the looks of him currently and I suggest you rethink any other possibly phrasings of that statement before speaking once again.” Papyrus snapped at the bar owner, who seemed rather shocked by the outburst.

“Oh? I think he was plenty-”

“Plenty what? Okay with this? I highly doubt my younger brother would be okay with someone handling him in such a way, he seemed all too eager to have me come and find him to be okay with you _raping him_.” Papyrus heard a yelp from behind them, turning his head to look at his brother attempting to stand, it hurt him to see Sans like this, but he knew he couldn’t take his eyes off the elemental in front of him. He moved his gaze back to said purple flame, “I’ll give you one more try, if you say one more incorrect statement, I won’t hesitate with what I’m thinking about doing.”

“Sans was most certainly enjoying this little get together, I assure you, Papyrus.” Chillby said cockily before a bone connected with the side of his face.

“Wrong answer.” Papyrus spat, starting to attack the pinned monster with no remorse, his socket flaring before he felt a shaky grip around his spine, and something buried in his scarf, his body went rigid, “Sans what are you-”

“P-Pap, please, d-don’t kill him… I-I’ll be fine, j-just take me home, p-please…” The smaller monster sobbed into the cloth.

Without even a second thought Papyrus picked up the smaller skeleton and left, somehow Sans had managed to get redressed in the time his brother had beat the bartender to 1HP, he shook in his elder brother’s arms as he fell asleep crying. This had to be the worst reset yet and he knew it probably wasn’t going to get much better, Papyrus was his only light. His bones were blackened in areas and he could barely feel his pelvis or legs, his tibias and fibulas felt like they were dust already and he just couldn’t handle the strain. It took at least a week for him to recover to the point he could meet Frisk and now more than ever did he hope there’d be a reset.

Unfortunately for Sans, it took quite a few resets before he could cut going to Chillby’s out of his life. When he finally could… It was the best thing he could ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me over a fucking month to write... It's shorter than the past couple chapters and I don't even care because it literally caused me physical pain to write it. Gg.


	9. Slashed Cloth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens when your friend becomes your worst enemy?

“999…” Sans mumbled tiredly as he snuggled against his brother’s pillow, trying to fall asleep once more. Papyrus had come to get him after another nightmare the previous night, which had been happening a lot more frequently it appeared, much to his own chagrin. The younger skeleton just couldn’t shake the fear he had, which was honestly no surprise and with how long this had been going on it was anyone’s guess why he hadn’t just tried to end it already… Though he knew the reason, it was obvious if you were close enough to him. _His older brother_. Papyrus really was his only glimmer of hope left and even still, he’d seen him die so many times… So why did he did he go through this again and again? Because he couldn’t give up even if he wanted to.

He heard his brother moving around next to him, getting ready to start the day which only caused him to sigh and cling to the other skeleton for some comfort before they started their routine. They taller of the two looked down at him, moving his hand out to stroke Sans’ cheek lovingly before kissing his skull, “Sans...you know we can’t stay in bed all day.”

Of course Sans knew that, he knew they couldn’t, but he also knew today was the day the kid would come through again, for better or for worse… He knew what was about to happen to them, he knew he would more than likely lose his brother again, but he couldn’t help wanting to savor the last bit of time together they really had before things started going downhill. Sighing he looked up at the elder, dark crescents under his sockets as he nodded, “I know Pap, but...just a little longer, please?”

Without much more effort put forth to argue with his brother, Papyrus laid back, rubbing circles along the smaller skeleton’s spine to make him feel comfortable. The elder always knew how to quell Sans, that was always a given ever since they were children, but it rung a whole lot louder now since they were truly alone in their world… Or rather, alone together, seeing as they could always rely on one another for some sort of help.

It was at least another hour before Sans relented and let his brother get up, only getting up after a few more minutes to head off to get dressed himself. Their day was normal, even up to waving goodbye when they split up, it was so strange, no matter how many times they relived this… Things still seemed to fall into the same routine over and over again. Sans sat down at his station once he reached it, knowing all too well what would be happening and it wasn’t getting any better from here on out.

Little did he know what would happen next…

Frisk stood in front of Sans in the Judgement Hall, staring him down, he really wasn’t looking forward to this but he would much rather fight Frisk than let them pass, “Y’know kiddo, ya can’t always expect someone ta go easy on ya even if you’re their friend… Sometimes friends fight against ya harder than your enemies.” The words left him and not even a moment later he was jumping out of the way of a knife heading right for him. His eye began glowing as he watched the child who he once called his friend, “Well, I guess we know how this is gonna go, huh?”

Standing up, Sans snapped his fingers and called forth Frisk’s soul, already having seen that they weren’t giving up on taking everyone out this time. He knew one of these times they wouldn’t give up, one of these times they would keep pushing forward, no matter how many resets he went through, he saw this coming and the day was finally here. Shrugging his shoulders as he shook his skull he looked at them, “Y’know kiddo… I always did think we’d be friends no matter what, until the first time ya killed Pap… Even though ya wouldn’t fight me, it was hard seeing ya as a friend once ya did that.” He watched as they lunged forward again, side stepping out of their way.

“Stay still, Sans, come on.” Frisk almost whined as the skeleton chuckled.

“Nah kiddo, don’t care what ya say, that’s not happening, besides…” He summoned some of his bone attacks to throw forth, watching as Frisk dodged a few before tripping and falling on their face, “I told ya before, you’re in for one hell of a fight if you go down this route. I’m not letting up, and you should know I keep my world from the first time we met.” His eye followed Frisk as they stood up shakily, pointing the knife right at him.

“You know I don’t want to hurt you!” They called out before heading in his direction again, shaking a bit.

Sighing he moved once more, calling forth a Blaster, “Ya shoulda thought of that before ya killed Pap that first time, shoulda thought of that the whole time ya kept resetting just to see what would happen.” He let the blaster’s jaw open with before it shot out at the child, his arm shaking a bit, “You use to be my best friend besides Papyrus, the only other person I thought I could trust… Then you threw out that trust when you murdered my brother!”

“S-Sans, i-it hurts…” Frisk coughed, shaking a bit as they looked up at him, their health bar depleting slowly, which even surprised the skeleton.

“W-what the…” He hadn’t even noticed that in their first battle, but apparently his attacks did damage over time? Maybe it was a fluke though, since he never attacked anyone before this. Shaking his skull and managing to teleport just before the other could hit him sent a shiver down his spine, he realized just how close they were that time, “No, it isn’t gonna be that easy, kiddo.” His next attack was a lot more thought out than his previous few, making Frisk jump and duck at random times just to make sure they wouldn’t get hit at all. If Sans was being honest though, he didn’t enjoy this one bit.

“I-I’ll get to you at some point, you know I will…” Frisk called, just as they missed a jump and were tripped once more, slamming their face against the tile floor.

The fight didn’t take overly long, Frisk losing. Sans knew they weren’t going to give up after one fight this time, he just knew it, so he waited. It took a few moments before he could tell the world had reset, the tiles missing the bloodstains on the surface and a distinct echo of footsteps coming closer. He wasn’t giving up, not at all. The smaller skeleton had to do everything in his power to avenge his brother, even if he’d originally promised himself he’d never fight someone like this. As Frisk grew closer he braced himself once more, summoning bones before doing anything else, “Kiddo, I think you should re-evaluate your choice.”

“Sans…” They looked at him before lunging forward, drawing them both into battle again.

It went on a few more times like this, a long a grueling amount of time, at least in Sans’ opinion, but he was determined to get through it. His hand shook as he continued, even though his magic was replenished each reset, it felt wrong to hurt someone he use to consider a friend, and it only got harder the longer they both battled. He flung more and more bones at them, watching as they began to get better at dodging themselves, sweat beading on his skull as his legs shook, eye flaring. This wasn’t good, he knew it wasn’t, but he couldn’t do anything else but keep trying to win.

It wasn’t until about the 200th time that everything seemed to be playing in Frisk’s favor. Their dodging had gotten so good they were barely getting hit, their swings getting dangerously close to Sans’ body as he jumped back, his adrenalin kicking in and telling him to get the fuck out of there… But he kept trying to press forward, his aim getting worse… And then… 

Sans felt his magic giving out, his eyesight was fading slightly as he called out one last blaster, “S-Stay there kid...and you won’t have to worry about losing again…” He was getting way too tired, beyond tired, actually. His body felt weak, like he was about to fall over, he knew he couldn’t hold out forever. Frisk wasn’t even moving, except to breathe, really. His eye-light flickered as he wavered in his place, the battle had consumed so much of his magic and he knew his stores were dangerously low. It was a few moment before he finally was forced to succumb to the tired feeling that washed over him, his sockets closing before he sensed someone coming at him.

He realized the blaster probably disappeared when he fell asleep, so he dodged as quick as possible, panting and looking at the child, “Y’know, yer gonna have to be faster than-” Before he could even finish he felt the knife they were holding slash across his chest, knocking out his HP before he could even dodge again. He shook, this was the first time Frisk had killed him when they got here… Their determination was different, with a shake of his skull he stood from where he’d fallen to the ground, his hand over his wound.

The small skeleton coughed, chuckling before looking at the kid, his white eye-lights flickering in his sockets, “Y-you listen so well, kiddo...heh… I guess… This is the end...” He looked away, “I’m gonna head home…” He started moving towards the exit, his hand shaking slightly, “Pap...I...I’m sorry…” His voice shook as he left the door, already feeling himself turning to dust. The last thing he did was teleport home, picking up the folded scarf from the table and wrapping it around himself, “I’m...coming Pap…” He whispered, before tears left him, knees shaking as he fell forward, feeling himself disintegrate.

He cried out, grasping at the air in front of him, clawing at the blankets as he pushed himself onto the floor, convulsing slightly. It took the small skeleton a moment before he opened his sockets, looking around his room frantically. His body shook as he heard his brother running down the hall and banging at his door, “SANS! SANS ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!” He heard the other’s voice calling to him, which only made him sob. 

“P-Pap…” He called out weakly and before he knew what was happening he was in his brother’s arms. His form shook as he kept close to the other, hiding against his chest, “I-I had a nightmare…” Was all he could get out.

“I assumed that is what happened, Sans… I’m here, you don’t have to speak of it unless you wish…” The elder brother whispered, petting the smaller’s skull. A silence fell over them both as Sans tried calming himself, when it proved to be difficult he felt his brother shift, rubbing his spine in a soothing and beginning to hum, which lulled him into a sense of security. Papyrus always knew how to help him, and seemed to reinforce his feelings with each new reset that he lived through.  


_‘1000…’_ Was all the smaller monster thought before slowly drifting to sleep in his brother’s arms.


End file.
